Lassoed with a Rope-Dart
by MRAY 4TW
Summary: He's now attained perfect peace to assume the title of a Sage. But a certain Sand Kunoichi whose life seems to revolve around him now threatens it. What is he to do when she is presented as the perfect catalyst agent to renew his views about his life? Naru/Matsu Naruto x Matsuri. Requested by Ryuujin96.
1. Chapter 1

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **MRAY 4 THE WIN: Well, time for my second short story. It's not too ambitious but I'm trying to aim for 25k to 30k. However, I'm not a person to draw out things (I HATE THAT!) so if the story starts feeling watered down, I'll conclude it. This is a Naruto x Matsuri pairing, requested by Ryuujin96. Took me some time to establish the plot, won't be much of one, but I'll try; some liberties had to be taken so I don't want to hear 'This didn't happen at so and so time'. I am in control of events and time! Matsuri isn't the easiest character to work with, having very little screen time. (Cracks knuckles in preparation).**

 **Side note: The Sunagakure Support mission happened according to the anime. Kazekage rescue arc has been altered to suit my intentions. Also, it is my belief that Gaara being the youngest of the siblings was teaching students of his own age because he was that powerful at the time. But to make it fair, all members of that generation (Naruto's generation) are around sixteen and seventeen and Matsuri is fifteen.**

 **Summary: He's now attained perfect peace to attain the title of a Sage. But a certain Sand kunoichi whose life seems to revolve around him now threatens it. What is he to do when she is presented as the perfect imbalance agent now in his life? Naru/Matsu Naruto x Matsuri. Requested by Ryuujin96.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't own any show, in fact. What I own, however, are people playing first person shooters online.**

 **1.**

The group trudged through the forest, enjoying the camaraderie. On one hand, it was expected that they would be this way, seeing as how they had fulfilled their purpose. On the other hand, one would have expected them to be a bit more reserved, considering what they were returning from.

"-And then, I just created a **Great rasengan** and then blasted him away! And then he just smirks at me. I'm like, what was up with that, huh? I mean, he gets a supercharged ball of chakra to the gut and he uses that expression."

"So was the fight youthful, Naruto-kun?!" A spandex wearing youth yelled his question.

"If by youthful you mean easier than expected, then yes. I'm awesome, dattebayo!"

A pinkette slightly slapped her teammate in the face. "Don't let it go to your head!"

"Aww, let me have this! Even if it were just a copy of the real thing, he would still have been incredibly hard to beat."

"He's right. Besides, look at how Team Gai had it difficult with the knock off Kisame. Naruto is _that_ strong now."

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei!"

"But still. I still have nightmares fighting you Naruto. That mode really packs a punch."

"Wouldn't be useful if it didn't!"

"Naruto…"

"Hai, Gaara?"

"Arigatou, for helping me. You have now saved me twice. You have saved me from a dark path, as well as my life. You have my gratitude, my friend." He said in his monotone.

The teenager grinned. "I had to do it for my best friend."

"Most of Shukaku's chakra is gone. He used to be a one tailed Bijuu. Now he's a quarter tail."

"You're still a jinchuriki."

The raccoon faced Kazekage did not answer. Instead, he looked up at the sky while he walked, breaking out in a small smile. It truly takes a close death encounter to make one feel alive. It made him wonder about his past 'life'. Did he truly feel 'alive' when he was crushing people to death?

No.

He truly owed the blond a lot. He now had his life, his family, his friends and the whole village to call his own.

Speaking of the village…

"Perhaps… anyone would like to race back to Suna?"

Two spandex people shimmied up to the Kazekage's side. "A race?!"

He felt… happy. Might as well enjoy life.

"Hai. A race."

"You hear that, Lee?!"

"Hai, GAI-SENSEI!"

"The Kazekage wishes to fuel the flames of his youth with a YOUTHFUL RACE!"

Everyone else who was aware of the proceedings shrugged, young and old alike. Might as well. It would also be a good way to see who was the fastest, as well as reach Suna faster.

"Why not."

"Sure."

The blonde at the head of the group held out his hands to the sides to stop everyone from walking any further. He then walked to the far left and toed a line in the dirt to the far right.

"Alright!" he yelled. "ALL PARTICIPANTS TOE THE LINE! WE'LL START WHEN THE PAPER BOMB GOES OFF!"

Everyone slightly panicked. "What paper bomb?!"

The blonde took one out of his pouch and wrapped it around a kunai. He then threw it as hard as he could into the sky. He then hurried to his spot on the line.

"Get ready!"

Everyone else got to the line in their own fashion. From left to right, there were Naruto, Sakura, Chiyo, Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Gaara, Tenten and Neji; all in assorted starter running stances.

All was quiet for a total of three seconds.

Then the far off sound of an explosion somewhere above them sounded.

All of them took off like the proverbial bolt of lightening. Gai and Lee, as expected took the lead and held it, Kakashi two meters behind them in third. Chiyo was faster than her age suggested and held fourth, much to Naruto's shock. He planned to rectify that.

He closed his eyes for five seconds and reopened them, revealing a rectangular bar pupils that were amber colored. His eyes were also bordered by orange eye shadow.

His perfected Sage mode.

He exerted himself more using his now sennin enhanced legs and practically blinked out and back into reality, appearing beside Gai who was already moving at close to his top speed to stay ahead of his student who seemed to be trying his utmost. (Mind you, they still had on their weights.)

Gai laughed, seeing Naruto beside him. "YOSH! NARUTO'S YOUTH BURNS BRILLIANTLY! BUT IF I CANNOT WIN THIS RACE, I WILL DO TEN THOUSAND PUSHUPS, AND IF I CANNOT DO THAT, I WILL DO A TEN MILE RUN TEN TIES IN ONE DAY! AND IF I CANNOT DO THAT, I'LL CARRY KAKASHI N MY BACK AND HOP ON ONE LEG TO KONOHA!"

Said man's only visible eye widened before he actually slowed down a little. But to his horror, it seemed as if Naruto wanted that to happen by actually speeding up a little. Kakashi knew that his 'eternal rival's' limit was eight thousand and odd pushups and nine suicide mile runs was his time limit to a day.

Wait a minute.

Let a shadow clone take that punishment. In the meantime, he'll just catch up on his Icha Icha. Now re-spirited without the fright, he tried harder to win. After all, Gai was on fifty wins in challenges, as well as him. He needed a tiebreaker.

Gaara's speed was nothing to scoff at. After carrying his own sand with him so much when he was younger, he was quite fast. So much so that he was in fifth place, ahead of the last three chunin who trained under a hokage and a Taijutsu speed demon. While they knew they wouldn't win, it was more like a race among themselves. Neji was only quick, not fast. (All around agility, not running speed.) Sakura and Tenten however remained last but it was anyone's guess what they were chatting about back there. Naruto was sure however, that they were talking about him.

 **At Suna's Gates**

The sand siblings waited at the gates along with a few people waiting on any news, be it good or bad about the Kazekage. All were anxious. Some were adamant that he was alright and there would be a safe return while a few others, while they were not pessimists, they fretted for the worst.

Kankuro was a prime example, having seen an omen. He had discussed this with his sister Temari but she told him off that he should have more faith.

"He'll be fine, Kankuro! Trust me!"

"That's easy for you to say, Temari-neechan. I mean, the photo was well placed on the table with fair distance from the edge. And it just falls off with the crack over Gaara. That's just not a good sign. It's not like I don't want to believe you. I want him back home too," the puppeteer stated.

"I agree with Kankuro, though." Ittetsu said. "I mean, the Akatsuki are powerful. I heard that they have ten s ranked members, including Itachi Uchiha the clan murderer and Kisame Hoshigaki of the mist. They just took Lord Gaara, just like that."

A teenage kunoichi with dark eyes clocked him in the top of his head. "Why are you guys being so negative!" she yelled angrily. "Lord Gaara's stronger than that! He'll come back!"

Temari watched the happenings with a small smile. Perhaps she should sic Matsuri on Kankuro. 'Maybe _she'll_ straighten him out.'

"Alright. All of you settle down," Baki ordered. He looked across the desert that was the Land of Wind where heat waves rose up off the sand. There was a slightly paved section that was a 'road' used by civilians and Ninja alike. It held his attention now, seeing something far off in the distance with his uncovered eye. 'That does _not_ look like heat waves or a mirage' "Temari."

"Hmm?"

"Look out there." Baki pointed out into the distance. "Can you see what that is?"

The blonde woman stared out into the distance. Far off, she could see nine specks. She was unsure of what they were but they seemed to be getting…bigger.

'Are those…ninja?'

"I think its ninja."

Matsuri grew excited. "I bet that its Lord Gaara coming!"

"Maybe." Temari agreed. They continued to watch.

 **With the Racers.**

"Alright! The gates are in sight! Everything goes, people!" Naruto yelled excitedly. "It's a free for all!"

And then bedlam reigned supreme.

Sakura jumped up in to the air and did a ground pound with her fist, showing off her newfound chakra enhanced strength she learned under Tsunade. Immediately, a large crater came into being, throwing up a large plume of sand. She being the only one prepared for her stunt, everyone else lost footing and started to stumble and trip. She chakra dashed again taking the lead.

"Oh hell no!" Tenten got up quickly and threw a bolas at the rosette kunoichi. (You know, the heavy metal balls on strings that Vigilantes like Batman and Robin use.) They wrapped around the girl, pinning her arms to her sides and made her fall, resembling a weird species of caterpillar.

"Damn it Tenten!" the girl shrieked in surprise. The weapon's mistress giggled as she passed her, only to be tripped by a convenient short pillar of sand that rose up in front of her.

"Wha…! Gaara!"

Said Kazekage chuckled as he bounded forward again, now in fourth. Chiyo used a chakra string on Kakashi's left leg to pull him to interrupt his running poise and made him fall harshly to the ground at the sudden stop.

The old woman laughed out loud but the man immediately transformed into Lee, revealing the lad crying anime tears for being used as a replacement in a substitution.

Kakashi chuckled, now close to Gai because of Lee's closeness in place before. His chuckle abruptly ended when he saw a wall of sand appear in front of him. Using his sharpened reflexes, however, he darted around it and eye smiled at Gaara. He however failed to notice than by turning around, Neji passed him, now directly behind Naruto.

Said blond was having the time of his life, testing out Sage mode's natural speed against that of one of the fastest men he knew. So he naturally was unaware of what Neji intended to do.

" **Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm**!"

The 'wind' chakra attack caught Naruto in the back of the head, making him face plant in mid-stride. He wasn't hurt but he had sand in his mouth.

"Ugh!" he spat as he got up quickly. By now, everyone had passed him out except Sakura. 'This race is no joke!'

He channeled chakra into his legs and took off like a bullet, hoping to catch up to them at the very least before the race ended. He could see the gates coming up closer as he neared the group. Suddenly, he had an idea. (Heh-heh. I gave it to him. I take credit!) He sprinted against the loose sand a bit more before spawning a clone about ten meters ahead of him.

" **Shadow clone jutsu**!" he cried, forming the modified cross handseal.

As he neared the clone, the doppelganger (Sage mode is also present in clone) reached out and grabbed his creator's left arm at the shoulder/armpit and pulled him forward. In the same motion, the clone lowered his right hand close to the ground for Naruto to step in. The clone then had Naruto firmly placed in his hands and threw him forward with Sage strength at a forty five degree angle, the perfect degree for passing over his competitor's heads, unnoticed. He put his hands together in a water cutting form to go through the air easier before he landed.

The competition saw his fleeting shadow on the ground before he abruptly landed next to Gai, raising a torrent of desert sand that got into everyone's eyes.

"Agh!"

"My eyes! Naruto!"

"I'm used to getting sand in my eyes."

'Good thing I can just close my eyes and see through my eyelids with the byakugan.'

"Naruto-kun is truly youthful! I can't remove my weights…" Lee's face looked uncharteristicaly thoughtful. 'I'll open the first two gates." The spandex wearing lad leapt into the air and focused his mental energies.

" **The Celestial Gates**! **Gate of Opening: Release**!"

Chakra erupted from Lee while he was midair, attracting everyone's attention who was a bit bug eyed that he would go that far.

" **Gate of Closing: Release!** "

The green aura came off of Lee in earnest. As he landed, the boy flickered in and out of view nearing the gates quickly much to everyone's shock; Naruto especially.

"Oh hell no!"

Naruto started spamming clones ahead of him to kawarimi with. Gai opened his first two Gates as well, travelling in a manner like his student. Kakashi started using shunshins to body flicker closer and closer to the gates. Gaara, in an effort not to be outdone raised a sand tsunami and rode the tide of it, practically and literally everyone else behind him to eat his dust.

The first five: Lee, Gai, Naruto, Kakashi and Gaara held the race in a perfect tie. It would need an excellent trump card for one to win.

And… the kazekage cheated. (Err… again.)

The darned wind shadow raised a **Very** large and thick wall of sand with perfect manipulation thirty meters ahead of them. And his competition slightly panicked. To climb a wall like this even with chakra would take too long. To go around would halve that time but still would take too long. So the leaf Nins decided to go straight through.

" **Dynamic Entry**!"

" **Leaf Whirlwind**!"

" **Rasengan**!"

" **Chidori**!"

All of them flew through the wall in their own respective styles. Gaara simply made the sand tsunami he was riding merge with it, making it extremely large. He then simply pushed it forward a little more, then attempted to cover his fellow racers in sand.

Kakashi, Gai and Lee went under almost instantly. Naruto merely smirked just before the sand reached him.

And in the same second Gaara saw his friend with the mischievous smirk, he saw himself closer to the ground watching his own sand, his own element about to cover him.

He had just been used in a substitution.

Gaara gave a dry chuckle before he too was covered.

Naruto, now on top of the falling tsunami, and more importantly, the lead in the race simply ninja dashed across the finish line ecstatic. He was so much so, that he failed to see his 'welcomers' who just saw him bury their Leader under his own element.

 **Ten minutes Later**

Naruto watched the other participants 'run' through the gates. And by 'run', it meant that they limped, crawled and generally jogged across the line. He felt another tap on his head and yawned.

"Are you going to quit anytime soon? I said that my durability's 'through the roof'.

Matsuri withdrew her hand quickly with a slight scowl. "You have to get out of that mode sometime! And when you do, you're gonna pay for what you did to the Lord Kazekage!"

The blond slowly blinked his toad like eyes. "You saw Gaara about to cover me in a tidal wave of **sand**. I kawarimi with him and he gets caught in his own technique. It's sand; his element for Kami's sake. Besides, we were just playing around."

She tried to punch him in the head again but failed miserably because of the Sage mode's prowess. "You are to call him Lord Kazekage!"

Gaara came out of a sand shunshin next to the two, startling Matsuri. "He's right. Besides, it doesn't make me much of a kage to get replaced into my own attack."

"Lord Gaara!" Matsuri straight away left Naruto to go in front of the Kazekage before bowing at the waist. "We knew you would return!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Glad you finally made it. So does this mean I'm the fastest, friend?"

"Friend?" Matsuri was confused.

"You're faster than me… but not the fastest my friend. You still have a long way to go before you achieve that title." Gaara acknowledged before he turned to his pupil. "Naruto-san is my first and oldest friend, Matsuri. I trust that you welcomed him as you would an important guest?" Gaara asked, slightly narrowing his gaze at the girl.

"I…uh…" the brunette started to stumble in her speech.

"She sure did!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile. "I was welcomed warmly. Perhaps we should all go inside, ne?"

"That's fine. Let me change first into something more suitable." The raccoon eyed kage stated before exiting in another sand body flicker.

The two walked off towards the Kazekage tower. Along the way they made a little small-talk.

More like the Kunoichi of the pair asked a question that begged to be answered.

"Why did you lie for me?" Matsuri blurted out.

"Lie? Oh, you mean about when Gaara asked about…" The Uzumaki made a circular hand gesture (It's the 'spit it out, say it' gesture) that indicted for her to finish his sentence.

Which she did.

"…Your reception."

"Uh-huh. Well, he didn't need to know that you and the other sand-nin near outright attacked me when I came, going on about 'Burying the Kazekage'," he said, quoting Ittetsu.

"It did seem that way."

"You _assumed_. That's your mistake. Even though Temari and Kankuro vouched for me, you still tried to hit me upside the head with chakra enhanced blows."

"It would look bad if I didn't defend Kazekage Gaara." The girl defended herself.

"Well. It didn't work anyway. They felt like you were tapping my head anyway. His toad like eyes now turned back into their original cerulean state. 'Sage mode's time ran out.'

Matsuri saw the change in his eyes and fought to keep down a rising blush. 'Wow. Look at those eyes! Whoa, what am I saying?' "Wait a minute. Are you calling me weak?" She asked angrily.

"No, no. what I'm saying is that I am so strong that it looks as if you are in comparison."

She calmed down. "Oh." Realization struck her again.

"Wait, what!" she whipped out her jōhyō.

 **(The jōhyō is a rope-dart, as far as I can see.)**

 **And that's the first chapter. I think I pulled off the groundwork pretty well and the structure of the story's set. By the way, you saw that Naruto has sage mode already and Kakashi's alright. There will be a few explanations next chapter. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. That's all folks.**

 **Sayonara.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **…** **I've got nothing to say.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't Naruto.**

 **2.**

"Wait, what!" she whipped put her jōhyō.

Naruto's eyes widened as soon as he saw the weapon. Almost immediately, she had hurled the spear end at him, aiming for his chest.

He quickly let his hidden kunai fall out of his sleeve and he deflected it to the right. Not to be outdone, she pulled on the rope towards her own body and the jerked it to _her_ right, sending to him once more. To his growing horror, it seemed as if it was heading for a meeting with his eye.

He inhaled deeply and flipped the kunai in his palm and caught the dart in the ring of the kunai, just three inches from his eye. He exhaled now, grabbing the rope and pulled on it sharply. The girl not expecting the motion was pulled of her feet. She was going to face-plant on the ground when he suddenly reappeared at her side and caught her in the crook of his arm across her front. (Shoulder level. He was avoiding catching her at the breasts.)

Not letting the chance to hurt him while his guard was down, she elbowed him in the nose. To her surprise, he poofed away into smoke, indicating that he was a shadow clone.

And she was falling again because she had never righted herself.

She put both her palms in front of her to stop herself from fully falling, being on hands and knees. She got back to her feet and looked around for him but he could not be found.

"Hey. Up here."

She followed the voice and saw him sitting on a nearby building, legs dangling over the edge.

"You broke my nose. Well, you would've if you were fighting me instead of a shadow clone the whole time. The memory I got doesn't lie."

She growled and gathered the rope of her jōhyō again. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he observed the action. The kunoichi threw the dart again at her top throwing speed. She almost felt elation when she saw he wasn't making an effort to dodge. Suddenly, the dart stopped a foot before it reached him and she noticed an arm holding unto the rope from next to her. She turned around to see…

…Naruto holding unto the rope. Her eyes widened as she regarded him; her eyes flickered to both of them in surprise.

"…who…when?"

"If you're done fighting my clones…" the one next to her said.

The one on the roof poofed away.

"…We should be making our way to the Kazekage's Tower. Besides, you're scaring the passers-by."

She looked around at the people staring and had the decency to slightly hang her head embarrassedly, not noticing them in the first place.

The Uzumaki pulled on her arm lightly. "Come on. Let's go." He looked around at the assorted Suna villagers. "Don't you people have somewhere to be?"

They all hurried away in different directions, pretending as if they were never there in the first place. The blond merely shrugged before slightly tugging on Matsuri's arm.

"Come on, Matsuri, use your legs."

She started walking properly under her own accord beside him, a bit meekly. "When did you create the clones?" she had to know. She had never seen someone use clones even half as well as this individual.

He frowned as he looked ahead. "I created the first clone when you looked down at your belt to take out your jōhyō. That was when I went to find a place to take a leak. The second clone was what I created after I finished _that._ He spoke up just as I was washing my hands with a small suiton technique created from pure chakra. I finished and came just in time to see you about to dispatch the second one."

"You mean the whole time you were just…" she trailed off.

"Uh-huh. I couldn't wait till I found a bathroom."

She couldn't believe it. While she certainly wasn't going all out, Naruto was strong enough to just send clones to keep her occupied while he…er… watered a cactus.

"Am I that…weak…insignificant?" she muttered, remembering her days in the academy when she was constantly teased about being weak.

He turned around sharply as he heard her. "Don't you dare think that for a second. I was only stalling and I was hoping that you wouldn't notice me leave. I would've substituted back later and no would have ever known. Frankly, you are strong and don't beat yourself up. Besides, I was training with Jiraiya of the Sannin. I learnt a lot under his tutelage so it's no surprise that I know a thing or two. Do you think you're weak?"

"Hai." She mumbled weakly.

"So if someone loses, they're weak. Is that what you're saying?"

"Not what I meant. But yeah. I think so."

He grinned widely. "Then I'm the biggest loser you will ever meet. So are the Subaku siblings, as far as I've seen."

"Not lord Gaara, Temari-taichou or Kankuro-sama?!"

"Hai. I mean what I said. I'm going to tell you plain and simple. I lost things all the time. Many times, I won things by pure luck. If not for that, I would've died. By the way, do you know why the Akatsuki took Gaara in the first place?"

Matsuri nodded. "Shukaku."

"Alright. The Akatsuki took Gaara. He lost to them. Do you think he's weak?"

"Of course not!"

"Gaara lost to me in simple thing as a footrace. I even substituted him into his own attack. Is he weak?"

The girl was indignant. "No! But you had sage mode for extra power. You wouldn't have beaten him without it!"

"Do you know how Gaara and I came to be friends?"

"No."

"It was during the chunin exams. At the time, he was nothing more than a killing machine. He transformed into a tailed state when I was trying to stop him from killing my teammates. Soon, it escalated into him relinquishing his control and will to the Ichibi who threatened to destroy the village. There he was, the Ichibi at full tailed beast size. Would've made short work of the village. And you know what?"

"What" she questioned, now intrigued.

"The village is still standing. I summoned the boss toad, Gamabunta and we beat him, when Gaara was at the peak of his power."

She was mind blown.

"Now, even though we, and by we, I mean Gaara and myself, do you think we're weak?"

"No." she muttered.

"I'm sorry. Did I just hear a yes?" Naruto smirked.

"No." she said louder. She looked at the ground. "What about Temari-san and Kankuro-san?"

"I'm going to tell you pure and simple. Temari lost in the chunin exams to the laziest guy in the elemental nations when he only knew one technique and you know she's a very proficient wind user. And Kankuro lost his fight to some insects." His smirk grew into an amused smile.

She caught it and she started giggling a bit as well. "Shikamaru. She lost to Shikamaru. And Kankuro lost to Shino. And both siblings were already prodigies. They're definitely not weak."

Naruto smiled warmly at the kunoichi. "Now you see. You're not weak. Besides, what I said was just the literal truth. It wasn't an unkind truth or taunt or anything. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Alright."

They finished their journey to the Kazekage's Tower and let themselves inside. The air inside the building was quite cool considering the fact that they were in the desert. It could have been the fact that it felt cool inside by comparison, or there was a continuous air circulation technique being used. Naruto bet that it was the latter.

The décor seemed to be entirely made out of sandstone and hardened with chakra. There were even large and impressive looking statues, four of them to be precise which they passed. They climbed the long flight of stairs adjacent the statues and soon came upon average sized double doors. Matsuri stepped ahead of Naruto and opened the door for him.

"Uh, shouldn't it be the other way around?"

She frowned. "You're the guest of Suna while I am native. It would make more sense that it should be this way."

"Well, I think it's more courteous that the male do it."

"Feh. That's just tradition."

Naruto strode up and opened the other door. "Let's just cut through the whole tangled problem and enter at the same time. Wadd'ya say, huh?"

"Fine."

"On three."

She nodded.

"One…two…three."

They walked in at the same time and closed the doors in a similar fashion.

"Sooo… what now?" the blond asked the brunette.

"…Can you describe the fight between you and Lord Gaara?"

 **With Gaara**

The redhead finally finished his shower and dried himself off thoroughly. He then pulled on another set of his kazekage robes. He neglected the hat; personally, he hated it. It made him feel like he was like his much older counterparts of the other elemental nations when he was still a teenager. Finally, he regarded himself in the large standing mirror.

He was pleased.

After not going through a proper cleaning while getting Shukaku's chakra sealed away, not to mention the battle tears and wears he got when fighting Deidara, he really appreciated the bath. Besides, after getting caught in a sand tsunami, he had sand everywhere like how he used to be. He hated that too.

He quickly left the room in a sand shunshin to his office, fully expecting to see everyone congregated there. Exiting the shunshin three seconds later, to find the doors closed and laughter and loud talking going on inside.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" a muffled voice said. "You stuck a paper-bomb on a kunai between the crack of his ass?!"

"It was more under the tail but yeah. Right between the cheeks, Tenten." another voice said.

"I taught him that move!"

"No you didn't, Kakashi-sensei. In fact, you used the 'jutsu' on me, even!"

"Naruto-san, I don't think you should be shouting that."

"Leave me alone, Neji! It was already humiliating at the time. I mean, he just pokes me in the ass with the tiger handseal!"

"My unyouthful rival, how could you use that technique on a genin?!"

"Hmm? You say something Gai?"

Gaara, having enough opened the doors and walked inside the room. Everyone fell silent and he could see all who went on his retrieval mission as well as his siblings and Baki. Most were seated except for Lee and Gai. Kakashi sat on Matsuri's armrest while everyone else sat in the chairs in their own ways; most were slouching. As soon as they saw the Kazekage they all straightened. Kakashi got off the armrest and stood but Naruto remained casual.

"Come on, Naruto, at least stand in the presence of the kazekage." Tenten said. Her façade broke before she started giggling.

"…"

They all looked at her before their emotions broke and all started chuckling in their own fashions.

Gaara sighed. He knew what they were talking about. So he decided to use Naruto's words:

"It was already humiliating enough at the time."

They were all laughing before he decided to kill the mood:

"You all seem happy about the fact that you had to send a genin to stop a tailed beast from destroying all you hold near and dear, what with no sealing masters around."

That did it.

"Now if you're all done digging up what should be buried in the past, we're here to make a written account of what happened for my retrieval."

Naruto coughed as his face grew serious. "Right. So, who's going first?"

"I think Kakashi-sensei should go first, starting after we left Suna." Sakura said.

Kakashi shrugged before he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, okay. Are you going to get everything Baki-san?"

He looked to the Suna jounin who had seemingly gotten out a scroll and an ink-brush with an inkwell out of nowhere and spread it out across the Wind-shadow's desk, which was already fortunately clear of obstacles and stationery. "Hai. I'm quick with a brush. You may speak at a normal speed."

The Hatake nodded. "Well, we were already making good time in going to the Akatsuki hideout. However, we soon met up against Itachi Uchiha in a clearing. After a short dialogue between ourselves, and ourselves and the nukenin, we began to fight."

He paused to look at Baki. The man jounin seemed to have already penned it and nodded to him for continue.

"Naruto suggested that he should do a finisher and I would be a distraction, counting on the fact that Itachi assume that I use my Lightening blade for the finish. I complied, knowing of his increased prowess from his training. I used the Raikiri in him and as expected, he dodged. While we were in the smoke cloud from missed attack, Naruto created a **Great Rasengan** and plunged it into the Uchiha's gut."

"A white chakra explosion ensued and Itachi died in the explosion. In the aftermath when we went to look at the corpse, we saw that it was a man named Yura, according to Lady Chiyo."

"Yura?" Baki growled. "He served on Suna's council for four years. How could he have been working for the Akatsuki?"

"I don't know. Perhaps that was how they were able to infiltrate Suna's borders and security so easily. Anyway, Chiyo sealed his body in a storage scroll and decided that we needed to make haste to save the Kazekage. I presume she has the corpse now currently being analyzed. When we reached the Hideout, we came upon a very large boulder with a reinforcement seal. Naruto activated his sage mode to sense for the sealing switches around the area and sent clones to remove them all at once. In the same instance, Sakura destroyed the boulder and we entered. We had interrupted their extraction process and in the same instance, Naruto who was still in sage mode created a giant Rasengan and shunshinned next to the statue the Ichibi was being sealed into and blasted it. The rasengan caught it in the chin and the 'mouth' closed up, stopping the process."

Naruto was sitting in a chair fist-pumped. "Yeah!"

Kakashi gave a small eye smile and continued. "There were images of other members there who were aiding the sealing but they quickly vanished when the statue was attacked. Deidara and Sasori were there, however, and instantly, everyone was fighting everyone. And to be clear, this was all going on inside the statue room. Naruto and I took on Deidara the mad bomber and Lady Chiyo and Sakura took on Sasori of the red sands. Sasori mentioned something about 'no explosions around the Gedo statue' and Deidara started making small explosives with clay chewed and prepared with mouths in his hands."

"I'm sorry… did you just say mouth's in his hands?" Baki asked, confused.

"Hai. **Mouths in his** ** _hands._** "

Baki shook his head slowly and continued to write. Matsuri only looked at her own hands and looked as if she wanted to throw up.

"He made explosives about the potency of B rank to A rank explosive tags and his clay bombs took on the forms of animals and they pursued us in like fashion, such as snakes slithering or birds flying. Naruto who was still using Sage mode used his enhanced speed to dodge while I was using my sharingan to predict where the explosives would intercept me and avoid them. Eventually, when Deidara thought we were getting too close for comfort, he created a large clay bird to fly around the cavern. He was about to fly outside when Naruto threw a clone at him who had rasengans in both hands-"

" **Rasengan Barrage.** " Naruto corrected.

"Anyway, it took down the bird and Deidara fell-"

"And I landed a fatal hit by punching him with senjutsu force, shattering all of his ribs."

"… Naruto, do you mind?"

"Heh Heh. Continue Kakashi-sensei."

"…"

"You can _continue._ "

"His body started to glow and we assumed that it was a post death technique that would blow up. We didn't want to take any chances on its blast force so I used a space-time Ninjutsu to warp it away in another dimension."

Baki raised an eyebrow.

"…It's true. Now it's Sakura's turn."

(She describes her fight with her and Chiyo versus Sasori; it's all canon events, except for telling them about a spy at Tenchi Bridge.)

"So he's the one who caused the third's disappearance. He killed the Sandaime and used his body for a human puppet?"

"Hai, according to lady Chiyo."

Matsuri grimaced. "That's horrible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So did you get everything, Baki-san?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai. So what does this mean for us, Kazekage-sama?"

"It means that the red dawn is rising. We all need to train at least twice as hard to prepare for the coming storm."

"Gaara, is it because you became a kage why you started talking like an old man?" Naruto asked, half in jest.

"…"

Matsuri clocked him over the head. "Show some respect, Naruto!"

"Geez! It was just a joke! I mean, he's my age, for crying out loud! I don't talk like that!"

Everyone else had to agree.

"You're right. And that's why Kazekage Gaara has more charisma." Matsuri said to him, deflating the blond's ego.

Gaara just closed his eyes. "Let us all take a break. Some of you hadn't gotten cleaned up yet. Baki will escort you to a hotel near the Kazekage mansion."

"The Golden Luxury." Baki stated.

"The Golden Luxury. Please care for yourselves and return for supper in the mansion at seven p.m."

Everyone sighed and left the room one by one. Some walked out, some shunshinned. Gaara left last, locking the empty room behind him.

 **That's chapter two. Now you know why everthing isn't like canon should be; Kakashi not chakra exhausted, Chiyo and Gaara alive and everyone's happy. A bit idealistic but it's still fine. As for Naruto being more battle smart and having Sage mode already, let me just say, what the f**k is wrong with canon, huh? He goes away for 2 ½ to 3 years and he only comes back with a bigger rasengan and mediocre control over three tails of Kyuubi power. I'll tell you what happened. Naruto tried to teach himself while Jiraiya stoke both of his thumbs in his a*s and went on a grand tour of female inhabited hot-springs. So I made him stronger and slightly smarter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also, if you agree with my rant, review! Actually, review whether you agree or not. That's all folks.**

 **Sayonara.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **Well, I'm finally back. It's been a while so I'm gonna skip the chit-chat.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I also don't own One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, Bleach, Fairy Tail, and just about every other anime and manga out there.**

 **3.**

He walked at a moderate pace with his fellow ninja from the Leaf and soon arrived at their Hotel. Matsuri had been kind enough to escort them to the Golden Luxury and none of them were complaining. The faster they arrived, the quicker they could wash up. Most of them stunk (Lee, Gai) some of them wanted to spoil themselves (Tenten, Sakura) and yet there were others who were neat freaks. (Neji, Kakashi)

Naruto did not care too much at present if he showered or not. He wasn't one who enjoyed filth but he had gone through disgusting situations, especially during Sage training. He had to be able to retain his focus while sitting in a toad's salivating mouth for instance. The stuff lingered on clothes and he had no soap at Mount Myoboku to clean it. Just a half-assed rinse and he was stuck with the horrible stench for a month.

They gazed up at the expansive Hotel, only rivaled by The Kazekage's Mansion. It was also made with Sandstone but other elements were used. There were even marble pillars, probably crafted and shipped all the way from Iwagakure.

"Alright. Let's go inside." The Suna kunoichi instructed the leaf Nin.

She led the way up the steps and to the front desk. Once she met the receptionist, she quickly explained the situation. She then gave the woman the Gaara's Seal with his instructions that everything was to be complimentary.

"Well, well, well. Gaara-nii sure knows how to treat guests huh?" Naruto elbowed his pinkette teammate.

"Yeah. He sure does. Even though when we were kids he nearly crushed me to death." She whispered back the last, so only he would hear.

"Aw, you gotta let go of the past, Sakura-chan. If it makes you feel any better, he nearly crushed me too." He said aloud, cluing everyone in on what they were talking about.

Sakura sweat dropped. "Didn't you learn any tact over the three years?"

"Sure. But I'm always gonna speak my mind." He grinned, making her groan. She rolled her eyes as she strode forward to claim her room key. Matsuri took it from the receptionist and handed it to the medic kunoichi who took it gratefully.

"Great! A shower's at the top of my 'needs' list right now. Who am I sharing it with?"

"You and Tenten-san. Then it's Kakashi-san with Gai, Lee, Neji-san and Naruto." The brunette answered, handing two more keys, one to the Hatake and the other to the stoic Hyuuga,

"That's fine."

"Good setup. Although I have to put up with two of the most hyperactive members of my generation."

"I'm not like that anymore Neji. You only need to be worried about Lee-san."

"It's Youth! Not hyper action, Neji!"

Neji just started walking away. He had had a long day fighting some fish-faced freak with black beady eyes and frankly, he was tired of his team members' rants about youth.

Naruto shrugged and followed him, leaving everyone else to their assorted talks; mainly that of which Kakashi wanting a trade with his placement with Gai.

 **Two hours Later**

The Uzumaki left the bathroom, now in a casual kimono provided by the hotel. He stepped back into his room and saw Neji reading a book, turned away from his teammate who was currently doing pushups. If the aura surrounding Neji was a suggestion of his mood, he was about to blow up in frustration.

"Say, Rock. Why don't you go take a bath, huh? I've read somewhere that being clean was … uh, 'youthful'," Naruto told Lee. (I have never seen a fanfic where a character uses his first name only, instead of his last.)

"Youthful, Naruto-kun?! I shall have as many showers as possible!" The bowl-cut teen yelled in enthusiasm. He streaked out in a blur of green, kicking up a small wind.

The blond chuckled. "Well, I just bought you some peace, Neji."

He grunted in response, not looking up.

"What are you reading?" he sat on his bed in a lotus position, preparing to meditate.

"'Serenity found in Reunited Souls.'"

"Oh. Well, I won't tell you any spoilers. Don't wanna ruin it for you."

The Hyuuga looked up. "You read? You read…" He held up the medium sized book. "…This?"

"Uh huh." He closed his eyes. "Helped inspire it."

The paled eyed teen snorted. "As if."

"My name is in the Special Thanks. It's at the end of the book, page 726." His focus started to rise as his outward awareness receded. By the time this process was completed, he missed hearing Neji give a small shout when he found the page.

"What the hell?! 'Special thanks to one Naruto Uzumaki, whose noble efforts helped to inspire this book's creation.'" He looked back at the blond who was apparently meditating. 'Brand new Naruto, huh?' He started reading again, now in a hurry to find out how it ended.

…

…

…

 _He was in the void._

 _It was the perfect shade of grey._

 _He was as light as a feather. He was as heavy as the earth itself. He was as significant as the sun but he was as pointless as hate. He was as deadly as a blade and harmless as breathing air._

 _Here, he felt truly alive, and truly dead. He has love to give, and everyone to hate. He was yin and yang. He had to find balance…_

 _Perfect Balance._

 _Without it, he could give up on living, give in to hate._

 _Without it, he could become deliriously happy, complacent and idiotic._

 _It was the curse of being a Sage._

 _He had to Hate and Love equally. It was one of the reasons he had stopped pursuing his rosette teammate in romance, why he had stopped hating the village's treatment of him when he was younger._

 _He had to be perfectly Neutral. With Balance, comes perfect peace._

 _With perfect peace, one perfects the Sage arts._

 _Jiraiya had failed in doing so; the reason he had failed in becoming the perfect sage. He had to rely on the elder toads. Naruto achieved neutrality; this was why he had mastered sage mode, even more than his mentor. It was even more phenomenal given the fact when he had a mass of hate in a seal on his stomach._

 _He was… a Sage._

…

…

…

"Hey. Wake up, Naruto. It's time for supper with Lord Kazekage." Someone was shaking him by the shoulders, trying to rouse him back to reality.

His waking reflexes nearly made him try to chop the person's neck before he recognized the voice as Matsuri's. He opened his eyes to find himself back in his room on his bed.

"Huh?"

"Supper. The Kazekage's waiting on everyone. He sent me to fetch you." She insisted. She was about to slap him lightly when he caught her hand.

"That… won't be necessary. I wasn't sleeping."

"Sure looked that way." She stepped back and allowed him space to hop off the bed.

"Meditation," he corrected, slipping on his sandals and looking around the room. "Where are Lee and Neji?"

"They're there already. It's just you who isn't."

He scratched his head a bit sheepishly and grinned. "Well, someone should have told me."

"You said you weren't sleeping."

He studied the girl in front of him. She was wearing a kimono as well, a green one with a little floral pattern around the legs. It was somehow casual and outgoing at the same time. "So you will be there too, huh?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"The mansion is a part of the Tower?"

"No."

"Then I don't know where it is. Lead the way please." He motioned to the door with a small wave.

She rolled her eyes before she walked out, Naruto close at her heels.

The journey was mostly silent, the teenager in the lead with Naruto a little behind and to the side. His senses were taking in every detail at once, like a truly seasoned shinobi. He felt the heat of the desert was rapidly cooling as the sun set, while he saw vendors and other business places started to close. He could hear them locking the bolts of their doors securely into place. He licked his lips and flickered the sand lightly with his tongue to spit it away.

And that smell…

"Say, Matsuri."

She looked back at him using her peripherals. "Hmm?"

"Was the perfume necessary? It's only a small dinner function."

"With the _Kazekage_."

"You should be more familiar with him, even more than me. Or is it that you want it to be that way." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

"What? No?" The girl fought down a small blush and coughed in her hand to hide it. "What makes you say that?"

"You seem pretty eager to defend him at every turn." He smirked.

"I'm…uh… a ninja of his village. I'm supposed to." She defended herself.

"Uh huh. So that's why you're wearing that very sensual perfume and not carrying your jōhyō?"

"Don't try me, Naruto." She warned him.

"I'm petrified. I wonder how Gaara will react. 'Matsuri-chan, that's a lovely number you're wearing.'" Naruto imitated his friend's monotone.

"Ugh! Find the place yourself!" In her exasperation, she performed a quick shunshin, leaving him behind.

The sand from her shunshin got in his eyes, irritating it. He rubbed it lightly, thinking about how to get to the function now without direction. Even now, no one was on the road he could ask.

'Wait a minute. I could just sense for Gaara's chakra with Sage mode. Then I'll body flicker there too. Besides, maybe the mode will help ward off the cold. I'm not really used to it.'

He closed his eyes to gather a little natural chakra before he activated the power up. As it became active, he absentmindedly noted that it took a half second longer to sift through the balance. He presumed that he needed to take a small break from it from using it so much.

He quickly used the sensing abilities that came with sage mode and searched for Gaara's chakra signature. Finding it close to the signatures of his friends and comrades, he quickly body flickered away in a puff of smoke.

Two seconds later, his surroundings changed to that of a large dining room with everyone sitting at a long rectangular table with Gaara at the head of it. His friends sat on either side but that wasn't what grabbed his attention. He noticed that Matsuri had taken the seat closest to Gaara, one that was to his direct left. He guessed that it was because of the bond they shared. A bond, he didn't knew what it was of. He planned to find out soon.

Normally, his old braggart self would have tried to claim a seat close to the head of the table but he only remained brash with his friends when the mood was cheerful. Now, it was about being respectful, whether he was best friends with the Kazekage or not. He took his seat at the foot of the table. No sooner had he did, Sakura stood up.

"Well, now that _he's_ finally here, we can eat. I'll grace it, if no one-"

"Actually, I'll grace it, Sakura." Gaara stood up, revealing that he had donned a casual red kazekage robe for the dinner. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not." She sat back down and everyone waited expectantly.

"…Arigatou Kami, for providing this food, and for granting the ability to the cooks who prepared it. I also thank thee for giving me another chance at life, so I may partake of this meal with those I care for." He sat back down and that served as a general signal for everyone to start digging into the buffet spread fit for a Kage.

It wasn't everyday they got to eat a meal as fantastic as this.

As soon as everyone had what they wanted on their plate, they all in one accord looked to Kakashi, who had piled his plate the highest. The man noticed the stares when he looked up.

"What?"

"Nothing." They all replied in one accord and looked down again, keeping an eye on the masked man.

"Oh boy. Everything looks good." He was about to pull down his mask with an index finger when all the lights turned off suddenly.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Naruto yelled, instinctively channeling chakra in his eyes so he could see well in the dark

"I wanna see!" Sakura shouted. In that instant, the sound of glass breaking was heard.

Then for the next ten seconds, the sound of someone stuffing their face with food was heard, then an audible gulp, and finally, a belch that reverberated around the dining room. The lights came back on to reveal Kakashi with his mask back over his face and a clean plate.

"Uh…something on my face?"

"Yes!" Tenten shouted. "Your mask! Did you do something to the lights so we couldn't see your face?!"

"This is…awkward. I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyway, ja ne!" Hatake shunshinned back to the hotel in a puff of smoke, leaving the table in silence.

"…"

"Well," Naruto clapped his hands in finality. "That's that. Maybe next time everyone. By the way, who broke their cup?"

"Neji did." Lee said smugly, which was very unbecoming of him. "He couldn't see in the dark."

Said Hyuuga coughed in his hand while blushing before shunshinning back to the hotel to avoid the embarrassment. The rest of the leaf ninja just sweat dropped at the actions. The Uzumaki simply took up his plate and went to Neji's place which was next to Matsuri's seat, on her right. He had spotted some noodles up the Sand nin was and he was going to damn well partake of it. He spawned a clone to pick up the glass midway to the seat.

"'Scuse me. Pardon." He sat down in the chair and pushed over Neji's food out of the way before putting a dish cover on it. No one else though it unusual for him to move to the noodles; they all remembered his obsession over ramen so it was no surprise. He helped himself to some of the noodles before he reached for a little of the pork to go with it. With that done, he took some of the raw vegetables to border the meat before he started to eat, along with his fellow diners.

Half an hour later, when Gaara had seen everyone finished with their meal, clapped his hands sharply. Two servants/aides who had waited at the door retreated to the kitchen and returned, each with a large platter complete with covers.

They placed both on the table and revealed the contents under the silver covers. One was a sponge cake with white icing and red cherry flavored drops circling the top while the other was a chocolate wine cake, laced with potent Saki to increase the alcohol content. So much so, the cake stunk of it.

"Mmm. Smells good! That's two out of five stars already, Gaara-nii." Naruto quipped. He reached for the cake cutter and removed a sizeable portion of the wine cake and set it carefully on his plate, making a show of dexterity, given his seating distance from said cake.

Gaara made a similar feat from his place as well, taking a size that rivaled Naruto's for himself. "I enjoy this cake's recipe in particular, Naruto-nii. And I'm entertaining other guests."

"Uh, I think I'll stay away from the wine cake." Sakura said as a whiff of it passed her. "I've seen what it does to my mentor."

She and Tenten both cut slices off the sponge cake; Tenten's was moderate and Sakura's was small. Gai decided to leave, not wishing to have any of the cake. As he got up, he saw Lee about to bring a piece of wine cake to his mouth.

"Kami! Lee! NO!"

Tenten's eyes widened. "Oh shi-"

In a blink, Naruto was beside Lee, his hand between Lee's fork and his mouth, blocking the morsel of Saki infused cake.

"Can someone tell me why no one wants Lee to have his slice of cake?" The Uzumaki asked, looking around at the others.

No one answered. They were dumbstruck. Except for Gaara of course; he never showed real emotion.

"Hello?" Naruto shrugged before he removed the slice of the ninja's cake from his possession and put it back on the cake platter. He then cut a slice off the 'harmless' cake and put it on Lee's plate instead. Then he calmly walked back to his own seat and started to eat his cake, the silence beginning to disturb him.

Gaara gave off a vibe that usually accompanied a shrug. "They seem to be shocked at your speed." He started eating his own slice of cake. "Although I too wonder why they didn't want Lee to eat the wine cake."

"Beats me."

It was Gai that came to first. "Naruto! That speed is so youthful! Would you be interested in learning the Goken taijutsu?!"

"Oh… I would…rather not Gai-san. I'm already trying to polish my own."

"Which is?"

Naruto smirked a little. "I'm not at liberty to say. The less who know, the better."

"Of course! How hip and cool!" The man practically yelled before he calmed visibly. "But pertaining to the earlier matter, it's just that my pupil Lee cannot ingest any forms of alcohol, be it weak or strong. If he did, he would become hopelessly drunk and try to fight everything he sees. And since he's a talented Strong Fist user-"

"He would destroy everything he sees." Naruto reasoned, figuring out the problem. "I see. I guess thanks are in order for warning us."

"I was about to intervene myself." The spandexed man gave a thumbs-up and a glinting smile before he body flickered home.

"That's that." Naruto forked up another piece of cake to his mouth, savoring the taste. "Tastes really good."

"Really?" Matsuri reached over and cut herself a moderate sized peace before she transferred it to her plate. "The smell alone could probably get me drunk."

"Aren't you under aged?" Naruto asked, throwing her a smug expression.

"Old enough to kill, old enough to- "She took a bite of the cake before her face slightly reddened. "-(gulp) eat this Saki-bomb of a cake. Wow! How much did they put in there?"

"Just enough." Naruto and Gaara said simultaneously, none of them unnerved by the action.

Matsuri not willing to be outdone ate another piece of it and more blood rushed to her face. "Yeah. Just enough to kill me. How can the both of you eat…" She gestured to the cake with her fork. "…This?"

"That is a simple question." The kazekage said in monotone. "Naruto, shall I tell her?"

"Sure. Why not. She doesn't seem to be biased. It's just Lee and Tenten that I'm afraid of. Well, if they don't like the answer, I guess I'll live. On the greater chance, they might be fine, given the fact that they're ok with you." This made everyone else who were eating their respective desserts look to him.

Gaara closed his eyes, garnering everyone's attention. "The reason is simple. Naruto and I are both jinchuriki. Our respective inner demons make it next to impossible for us to get drunk."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Inner…demons?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto waved his hand in an 'it's no big deal' motion. "I am the container for the nine tailed fox, the beast that razed half of Konoha to the ground sixteen years ago." He said it so casually and nonchalantly, the ignorant teens had a hard time believing him.

"Naruto, that joke is most unyouthful." Lee said in a frown.

"It's…true." Sakura said. "He's not lying."

They immediately got horrified looks on their faces, mixed in with realization. "So… the huge chakra reserves?" Tenten said softly.

"Hai."

"The red chakra you used against Neji?" Lee said the question in an uncharacteristic low tone.

"Hai."

"The giant toad transformed into a fox…?"

"Hai." He started eating his cake again along with Gaara.

"Sasuke using Chidori on you twice and you survived?"

He nodded, mouth full of cake.

"The villagers glaring and treating you like-"

He swallowed and held up his hand to stop them. "Alright, that's enough. No need to backtrack any further. So anyway, the demons just neutralize any and all poisons they detect in the bloodstream, and rapidly heal all injuries. That's why me and Gaara-nii can't get drunk."

They all blinked.

"Well. I don't know about you but I'm not hungry anymore." Tenten put down her fork, soon followed by Lee.

"What." Naruto said.

"Pardon?" Tenten asked.

"What has changed?"

"I don't know what you mean." Tenten replied.

"I'm asking you what does this mean for the both of you. Does this mean that I have a plague? A sign that says 'unclean'?"

"N-no." Lee answered.

"Meh." Matsuri went on to attempt another try at her slice of cake. "Nothing's changed for me, I guess. Explains the close relationship between you and Gaara-sama at the very least."

"Thanks Matsuri. But you should have seen this coming anyway." Naruto said half joking, half serious.

"Whatever."

"Your behaving like this isn't a big deal, Naruto!" Tenten cried.

"No. It's not a big deal. Well, besides the fact I've grown up an outcast regularly mistreated and underfed, sabotaged by the academy, get betrayed by Sasuke who I thought of like a best friend, a brother even, getting targeted by the Akatsuki… Nothing has really changed." He finished his cake and cut two more slices of the sponge cake and wrapped them both in napkins. Gaara eyed the action and gave a questioning look.

"For Kakashi-sensei and Neji-san."

Gaara nodded and Naruto immediately shunshinned home in a swirl of leaves.

 **And that's chapter three. I ended it on a big 'if' moment with two of the most 'normal' of the Konoha rookie Nin and I hoped I pulled it off well. For all those who think I brought in cakes and forks and other western things in by accident… you're right. But I went with it because it really fit this particular chapter. Get off my back! I've seen laptops several times in the anime, why the hell they wouldn't have forks, huh?!**

 **That's all folks. Don't forget to review!**

 **Sayonara.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **It's been a fortnight. You've waited patiently (and/or forgot about it until you got an email from the site that it was updated) so here it is. I can't hear you saying 'thanks' but you're welcome anyhow.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This literature is merely fanfiction of it, which is one of numerous thousands, frequently read by people who didn't get to see the pairing they would've liked. Kishimoto, There are dozens of possible pairings that the** _ **Naruto**_ **fans want, so go redo the series the same amount of times, without filler for each of them!**

 **(Audience applause)**

 **4.**

He came out of his shunshin in front of the hotel where he was spending the night. He quickly ran to the door and checked it with his free hand. It was unlocked so he went inside and shut it behind him. As soon as he did, he noticed a sign on the inside that said the doors were locked at midnight.

'That's convenient. I bet it's only nine p.m. Ten p.m. at the most.'

He transferred one of the cake slices to his right hand, having them both separate and making walking less cumbersome. He quickly went up the stairs in a mild run until he got to the floor where all the Konoha Nin were staying. He stopped at Kakashi and Gai's rooms first and called.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei!"

"Naruto? Come in, door's unlocked."

Naruto retransferred the second slice to the first hand and turned the knob with his free left hand. When he walked in, he saw Gai and his sensei playing tic-tac-toe.

He sweat dropped. "Really?"

"There are a hundred youthful spaces in it Naruto-kun. We have already used fifty-seven of them but none of us have gained the advantage!" Gai exclaimed before he wrote in an 'x'.

"Mmm hmm. Anyway, sensei, you left before we all got cake. I cut a slice for you."

Kakashi looked up from the sheet of paper. "Cake? A bit too sweet for this time of night, isn't it?"

"There's a vanilla sponge cake and a wine one, made with a lot of saki. If you're worried about the sugar, I'm sure that you can save it for tomorrow. Just put it in a storage seal."

Said jounin took a small one out of his jounin vest on a hangar and took the sponge cake from him. "Alright. We're leaving tomorrow at ten a.m. by the way. Don't over sleep."

He walked out of the room. "I won't." He finished closing the door and just before he left, he heard muffled shouts of one of them winning. If the yells were anything to go by, it sounded like Kakashi had won.

He sighed as he went to his room. He had just realized that he had to sleep with Lee that night, as well as Neji. As he said to the two, he would live. He wouldn't care what they thought of him but if they felt that they had to distance themselves from him, so be it. He had been a long time on his own. He had grown to be a somewhat solitary figure and he had grown used to it.

He knocked on the door twice to announce his entry before he walked in. He saw Neji lying on his back in his bed reading the same book from earlier. Naruto smiled a little when he saw it. "Enjoying the book, huh?"

"The plot is very engaging. How was your meal?"

"Delicious. Say, uh, I brought this slice of cake for you."

"Cake? I don't have much of a sweet tooth."

"Do you drink?"

"Alcohol?"

Naruto went and sat on his bed. "Yeah."

"No. I believe that it only carries ill effects with no gain. Why should I partake of such a beverage?"

"I brought back a slice of cake for you. Problem is, a lot of saki was used in the mix."

"Although I'm famished, no thank you."

"Hungry, huh?" Naruto quickly pulsed his chakra lightly, revealing six seals drawn on the underside of his arm. He sealed the cake in the first one closest to the crook where his biceps were and unsealed something from the second one.

"Ration bar?"

"I'm not that hungry. Although it begs the question why do you have storage seals on your person, especially for food?"

"Only the first two are for food. Only the first two." He sealed back the ration bar. "So what is it that you want then?"

"Probably nothing I want, I assume."

Naruto crossed his arms. "I have a _lot_. Try me."

"A medium sized bowl of perfectly steamed white rice bordered on all sides with tomato sauce. Thin strips of white meat chicken cooked until tender with scallion, thyme, leeks and garlic, with a sprig or two of parsley for presentation." Neji gave a small smirk, knowing that the specific meal was most likely unavailable.

"That's very specific, Neji. Unfortunately…" He unsealed a bowl with said meal from the first seal, making the Hyuuga's eyes widen. "I carry two thousand different foods and meals, one thousand for each seal."

He handed it to Neji who took it gratefully, who still couldn't believe it. "Is it fresh? I'm unsure about how meals react inside seals. Not that I'm not thankful."

"Seals are timeless. No time passes inside a seal. If you paid more attention, you would realize that the food is still warm."

Neji saw steam rising from his food. "Indeed it is."

He started eating with two chopsticks he found taped underneath the bowl while Naruto began writing a note in small notepad he retrieved from his third seal. He wrote down the specifications of the food he gave Neji and then sealed it away again.

"Hey Neji."

"Hmm?" His mouth was already preoccupied with eating.

"Remember three years back at the chunin exams when I countered your Rotation?"

He swallowed his bite of food. "Hai. Why do you ask?"

"You'll see." With that, Naruto shunshinned away in a puff of smoke, leaving the Hyuuga befuddled. Five seconds later, Lee and Tenten barged into the bedroom.

"Neji! You would never believe what happened at dinner!" Tenten screamed in a whisper.

"Hmm? How so?"

"Neji-san? What are you eating?" Lee asked.

"Dinner. Naruto gave me."

"Well, it's about him we're talking about. It's about what he told us during dinnertime with Kazekage Gaara." Tenten sat on the bed beside the Hyuuga while Lee sat on the other side so they could speak lowly and still hear clearly.

'I wonder if this is tied in with the chunin exams that Naruto just mentioned.' "Go on."

"Naruto admitted to us to be the container of a demon, just like Gaara." She said almost inaudibly.

"A demon host like Gaara?" He tapped his chin while he thought. "I've once heard of such a thing. They are called Jinchuurikis."

"Well yeah, that's what he called himself. A jinchuriki." Lee said, recalling the conversation. Or a wreck of an explanation, depended on who you asked.

"Power of human sacrifice." Neji mumbled.

" _Remember three years back at the chunin exams when I countered your Rotation?"_

…

" _You'll see."_

'Of course. That red chakra I saw throughout the fight. So that's what he meant.' "But I already had my suspicions. I suspect that Shino and Shikamaru-san also harbor suspicions but do not care. Come to think of it, I don't care if he is. Why should you?"

"He said that he's the demon container for the nine-tailed fox!" She hissed. "This is big!"

He started to eat again, rapidly losing interest in the conversation. "You're dodging the question. I asked you why do you care?"

"I…care. It's not like I suddenly hate him or anything…" She glanced to Lee, entreating for oratory assistance.

"It just that it changes how you see him. We see him in a different light." Lee finished, much to the Higurashi's relief.

"What kind of light? A sinister, malevolent one? A person who is more than likely to become traitorous and dead like Gaara once was?"

"No." Tenten sighed.

"Right now, I would say that Naruto is the person who I respect the most, even more than Hiashi-sama, my uncle. He has converted me to change my erroneous and arrogant ways from three years ago. He has promised to neutralize the Cage bird seal that afflicts the branch of the Hyuuga clan, even though right now it is little more than a pipe dream. Even tonight, he was looking out for me, bringing back a slice of cake for me, knowing that I skipped dinner."

"But you're eating now." Lee pointed out.

Neji smiled. "The very same gave it to me when I told him I do not consume alcohol."

"…" She stared at it for a minute. "That food looks like it took two hours or more to prepare. How could he have given you that?"

"He carries food with him in seals. The point is that Naruto is a very idealistic and upstanding character and I believe that for imprisoning the Kyuubi must be a daily trial for him. He has suffered the most, helped the most, fought the most and was miserable the most."

"That's true. I should apologize to him for acting up." Lee said quietly.

"…Me too." Tenten agreed.

 **With Naruto**

The Uzumaki sat on the roof with his legs dangling off. He had left Neji to speak with his teammates he had sensed coming. 'Perhaps tomorrow I'll find out how they truly feel. After all, many great decisions were made when someone 'slept' on it.'

He breathed in the crisp desert-night air, bringing about a confusing reaction of pleasurable goose bumps on his skin.

'Huh. Do I enjoy or hate being cold?'

He pulsed his chakra once and revealed his six seals again on his arm. He quickly unsealed a scarf from the fourth seal and wrapped it around his neck. Almost immediately, his goose bumps receded.

'We're leaving at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. I hope they wrap up their talk soon so they can go to bed. I just want to sleep without dealing with all the awkwardness.'

He stared at the white full moon. It was so close that he could touch it. 'Was the moon reachable? Is it in the elemental nations? Maybe it's just high in the sky, far out of everyone's reach.'

He looked back down into the street when he heard unsteady footsteps passing. He saw a young woman about to amble past. As she put her left foot down, she swayed a little putting her right foot down next. She was barely able to walk in a straight line.

She was drunk.

He held his passing interest as she 'walked' by. Her kimono was green, just like-

'Matsuri?'

He continued to stare at her as she walked tremulously. In fact, it was a good thing he did because she accidentally tripped over her own feet.

He hesitated for a blink of an eye before he body-flickered next to her and caught her before she fell flat on her face. Luckily, he caught her with a foot or so to spare but in the heat of the moment he had caught her in the crook of his arm right on her breasts, unlike last time.

He blushed lightly, for he was a bit of a prude due to one of his character traits. In fact, he had adopted the trait when trying to have some level of 'decency' around his perverted Sannin of a teacher, Jiraiya.

She absentmindedly rubbed more of her breasts against his arms. "You can touch them anytime you like, Gaara-sama." She mumbled in a sing-song voice.

He stared at the girl incredulously as he blushed heavily. "G…Good grief!" He hissed as he pulled her up so she could stand more properly. "You got completely **wasted** from a _piece of cake_ , didn't you?" He hissed at her.

"Wuh… Don't you like them, Gaara-samããã?" She folded her arms behind her and jutted out her chest, making her breasts more pronounced.

"…" He turned his head and eyes away slightly. While he was tempted to say 'hai' in Gaara's monotone to tease her, he felt that chivalry was a dying quality and decided to try and keep it alive.

"Matsuri, it's Naruto."

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" She slurred.

Apparently, her short term memory was also shot with her inebriation.

"You're out in the middle of the street. You're drunk." He stated simply.

"N-nonsense!" She hiccupped a little at the last, making Naruto sweat drop. "I'm not drunk. Maybe just a little tipsy. Maybe." She giggled.

"Matsuri, lets just get you home. Where do you live?"

"Huh? I live at, uh, 28…" She started to giggle.

"Just…stop. Stop." Naruto held up his hand while he rubbed his growing headache. 'Wouldn't make sense anyway, I don't know my way around the village and no one's around to help me get her home. Besides, look at her.' He started to scrutinize her more seriously. 'She's fallen before she got here and it seems to be multiple times. She's got dirt all over the front of her kimono, and some sand on her face.'

His mind started working overtime. 'She must have decided to walk home but after she set out was when the alcohol in her system started to get metabolized. Must have tripped one or twice judging by the amount of sand… and she's thinks I'm Gaara. I can't rely on her to guide me to her home correctly. What to do…'

He took of his scarf and doubled it, holding the middle. He then proceeded to dust the sand off the girl lightly. "Perhaps she could stay in the hotel." He mused.

After he got rid of the clingy sand and reapplied his scarf, he took her by the elbow and led her up the steps and went inside. Looking both ways checking for any unwanted eyes, he opened the door and brought her inside. He was seriously considering letting her sleep in the hotel but he wasn't sure how to procure a room for her to sleep in. He quickly spawned a shadow clone seallessly and the clone started scouring the hotel for any kind of management. Fifteen minutes later, the clone dispersed relinquishing memories that it found none available.

Suddenly, the doors clicked behind him and Matsuri, startling him a bit. He jiggled the doorknobs and found the doors to be locked. He was unsure of how that could have been to pass.

"Must be midnight, then. The sign said that the doors locked at midnight but I guess that's how they could afford to got to sleep before the hotel was officially closed and locked. They must have used a seal or something." He muttered. "Now she **is** __my problem."

He led her up the stairs gingerly. 'With all things considered, one thing is clear. She's sleeping here tonight.' He looked back at the girl barely making the steps properly. 'But she's currently inappropriate for sleeping. She needs a bath, fresh clothes…' The girl exhaled, sending a puff of saki-laced breath that wafted across his nose. 'And some mouthwash.' He quickly exhaled in his own closed palm and smelt it.

'Me too, I guess.'

He quickly led her up the stairs and finally stopped in front of the bathroom he was sharing with Lee and Neji. "Let's get this done." He mumbled.

The kunoichi must have heard him. "Get what done?" "You're gonna _do_ me, Gaara-sama?" She giggled loudly, making Naruto clap his hand over her mouth. "What are you doing?!" He hissed. "Shhh! You'll get us caught! You're not supposed to be here!"

The girl made some muffled sounds before she went quiet. Satisfied with the silence, he led her inside the bathroom and shut the door behind them. The white-tiled room was immaculate, something he was grateful for. 'Neji must've used it last. He's got a good sense of cleanliness and order.'

He hesitated a bit before he realized that if she was drunk, she couldn't take a shower unsupervised, or take her own clothes off for that matter.

'Perhaps I'll regret doing this one day. Helping people was too problematic.'

He turned the now listless girl around and untied the belt for her kimono, preparing to help her get out of it. "Listen to me, Matsuri. You're drunk, filthy and you need to get cleaned up. Can you bathe yourself?"

The girl responded by going completely limp and had it not for him still holding unto her belt, she certainly would have fallen to the hard ground.

"Ah geez."

He quickly turned her around, stuck one of his palms under her armpit and held her upright, looking at her now peaceful face. 'Does this make it easier for me? Or harder?'

He shrugged his shoulders before he continued taking off her kimono. It fell off and pooled around her feet, leaving her in tights, and a pink bra. For some reason, he found her extremely attractive in it but he tried (and failed) to stop his face from superheating in a blush. He reached behind her and unhooked her bra deftly and removed it, looking at her face only. He then spawned another clone seallessly that held the girl again by the armpits from behind her while he himself closed his eyes. He then stuck his thumbs in the elastic of her tights and stared to pull it down while he himself fell to one knee. He felt the loins of his own pants start to react to the images being produced by his imagination.

'Crap, crap, crap!'

His member started to press against the fabric of his own clothing, pitching a tent there. He groaned internally before he finally reached her ankles. With a small sigh of relief, he lifted one of her feet, then the other and suddenly, the tights were on the ground.

He stood up swiftly and opened his eyes, now looking back on her face and was about to dismiss the clone before he heard it clear his throat. He looked up and saw the clone gesture to Matsuri's waist by looking to it repeatedly. "You forgot her panties too, boss."

'Oh come on!'

He repeated the procedure was the exact same except for the fact that the process was slower, 'little Naruto' grew up and became 'an over sized adult' and he was in fear that Matsuri might wake up and deal out some justice to him and he was going to be obligated to just shut up and take it like a certain perverted old man.

Finally finished, he stood up again and relieved the clone of its job while he carried Matsuri and made her stand up in the shower. He then beckoned the clone over next to him.

"You're going to have to bathe her."

"What? I don't think I heard you correctly."

" _Bathe her_."

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because I can't afford to get wet in my clothes. You can bathe her since you're just a clone. You can just disperse when you're done, _inside_ the bath. Nowhere get wet needlessly."

The clone shrugged in resignation. "I guess that's true."

He stepped inside the bath beside her and was about to start when he hesitated. "Do I have to wash her down _everywhere?_ "

"No, no. just rinse her down thoroughly. I'm sure she had a bath earlier this evening. She just needs to be… cleaner for bed."

The clone sweat dropped. "…Will do."

Naruto closed the curtain and a minute later, he heard the water come on full force. Deciding to 'test the waters', he stuck his hand through a crack between the shower curtains and the wall and felt the water spraying heavily from the knob. It was lukewarm; nothing to get excited about.

About another five minutes of the shower running, it was turned off and the curtains drawn open. He turned his back the second he heard the curtain opening so he didn't look.

"Hand me a towel." The statement came from the clone.

Naruto retrieved the towel from the clone and gave it to him, eyes still closed. The clone merely shook his head. 'He doesn't realize. Won't be long anyway.' The clone thought, his face ablaze in a crimson blush.

The clone quickly dried the girl off with the thick and luxurious towel before giving it back to the original. Naruto merely threw it into the waiting towel hamper before he raised an important question.

"What is she going to wear now?"

He looked up to his forehead for a brief moment before coming to a solution. He unsealed one of his black t-shirts from his fourth (clothing) seal and threw it over the clone's shoulder. A small pair of shorts (Almost the size of underpants) and elastic sweatpants followed after.

"She can wear these. Chop chop."

The doppelganger growled a little in his throat before he did as he was told. Everthing said and done, Matsuri was dressed and ready for bed, but judging from the girl's unconscious form, she was already more than just prepared.

The clone heaved the brunette into Naruto's capable arms in a bridal carry. The Uzumaki looked down at the girl's peaceful face. "Cute." He murmured.

The clone smirked. "You'll think of her in more ways than that in five minutes. Now wash her mouth and get her to bed."

Naruto raised an eyebrow before he got he made the girl stand upright before throwing some mouthwash into her mouth and swished her cheeks around with it. Some dribbled out of her mouth but it still got the job done. She no longer had a drunkard's breath and she could always brush her mouth in the morning. Err, later on, that is.

He let her fall back into a bridal carry and hefted her back to his room. At the door, he momentarily balanced her lower torso on his uplifted knee while he opened the door. Once inside, he saw that the room still had a dim light on with Neji and Lee in their respected single beds. He gently laid her (on her back) down on his bed and pulled the covers over her. He sighed, glad that her episode was finally over.

"Good night, Matsuri." He muttered.

Her eyes opened in a squint while her body tensed a little. "Goodnight Gaara-sama." She quickly leaned up on her elbows and before Naruto could react, the girl kissed him on the lips.

For that brief second, Naruto's mind started to think about everthing about the kiss, instead of focusing on the kiss itself. About why she kissed him, mistaking Gaara. About why she would kiss Gaara on the lips. About how she continually mistook him for Gaara.

About how much he was enjoying the chaste kiss. About how her soft lips perfectly fit his own. About why the hell was he thinking about the kiss instead of focusing on the kiss. About why the hell would he kiss her back if he knew it was an accident.

Before he could do anything or say anything, she fell back on her back and was sound asleep.

'Oh Kami. What the hell just happened?'

He backpedaled out of the room and went back to the bathroom, his mind in a muddle. "This girl's going to be the end of me, and it hasn't even been an hour since I started helping her." He cursed to himself.

He re-entered the bathroom to make sure that the room was in good order. Satisfied that it was, he was about to leave when he saw his clone still looking expectantly in the shower.

"Well, it's been five minutes. Sayonara, boss." The clone gave a small wave before it dispersed.

In that instant, Naruto's mind was suddenly afflicted with memories of Matsuri. There were a lot of details and the more his mind processed, the more the growing blush on his face increased.

The bastard clone was checking out the girl's (bubble) butt while he was undressing her. The whole time.

Then his mind raced to when 'he' was in the shower. The clone had …(clears throat) enthusiastically cleaned the girl while the shower was running and Naruto was now getting all the details. While the clone didn't touch her in any perverse way, Naruto felt like he had and he now knew exactly what Matsuri looked like. From her perfect B cups to her neatly shaven **(T rated censoring)** , he now knew exactly what she looked like, from head to toe.

He heard something like water drip to the floor at his feet. He looked down and saw a lot of blood droplets on the ground, joining together to make a small puddle. He looked up at the mirror and saw his face, heated red hot to supernova proportions. He had the presence of mind to feel his face and he nearly had to withdraw his hand in shock…his face was practically on _fire_.

He started to swoon a little in dizziness and perverted euphoria before he slapped his own face hard, making the sound reverberate around the room.

With the self inflicted physical pain, his original demeanor and fortitude returned and he reached for some tissues and wiped up his blood of the ground. As he progressed, he got more and more cleaned up and he finally dropped it in the porcelain throne. He reeled off one more ply and cleaned off the rest off his face and this wad of paper soon joined his brethren in the toilet where it was promptly flushed away.

Naruto walked out off the bathroom and shut off the light using the switch next to the door. He then made his way back to his room and was about to lie down back on his bed when he realized that Matsuri was in _his bed_.

His resolve broke when he saw lithe form being illustrated by the covers as his mind started to replay the perverse memories like a twisted slideshow. He shrugged before he unsealed a futon out of his fifth seal (living supplies e.g. Furniture) and gingerly placed it on the ground. He then stretched out on his futon and yawned.

His last thought as he fell asleep was that he needed to get the **(T rated censoring)** out of Sunagakure as soon as woke up.

 **Omake**

He was sleeping contentedly on his pallet out in the wilderness when he was jolted awake suddenly. All was peaceful and quiet so what woke him up?

He looked around the forest, all he could hear was the occasional cricket. His internal clock told him that it was around midnight, maybe one a.m.

His senses suddenly tingled.

"Ah! There it is!" He jumped up and looked to the night sky. "It's finally happened! He's finally stooped to my level!"

Jiraiya the Toad Sage started to do a jig like a madman in the middle of the night. "He's no longer a prude! He's finally a pervert!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"He's a pervert just like me!"

 **And that's that. A blue moment was what was needed to start this romance and raise a few questions. All of which will be answered in due time, I assure you.**

 **I took some liberties (again) and this time it was about him having six storage seals on his arm and lets just say, I decided it would be good for him to just carry everything he would ever need with him, from a three course meal to a bed and a jigsaw puzzle. (Gives Naruto a thumbs up.) Nice!**

 **That's it for now, see you in a fortnight. Now start giving me some reviews! You're obligated to and frankly, I'm tired of reading fiction around the site and they have reviews by the hundreds and thousands. This story needs all the support it can get!**

 **That's all folks.**

 **Sayonara.**


	5. Chapter 5

Lassoed with a Rope-Dart

 **Another fortnight has passed. Here's your latest installment for LWARD.**

 **(Uh, sounds like a hospital wing)**

 **Disclaimer: My name is not Masashi Kishimoto. Therefore, I don't own Naruto.**

 **5.**

Kakashi got up at the crack of dawn, due to force of habit. No matter what time he went to bed, if he stumbled into bed drunk at three in the morning, his tendency to wake at this time had pulled him through.

It also damned him when on certain days he wanted to sleep in, like today.

He just got the…the _feeling_ that something happened, or was going to happen and he wanted no part of it.

An hour later of dodging Gai's morning training invitations, he got out his slice of cake from his seal and looked at it. It looked absolutely delicious. And tempting.

He quickly looked around for anyone who could be close by and pulled down his mask(s). He started to eat it quickly (habit) and was almost scared out of his wits when a shunshin came into being next to him.

He quickly pulled up his mask regretfully, knowing that he probably wouldn't get to finish it with any witnesses around. Especially someone like-

"Naruto? Good morning."

Said 'genin' didn't try to return the pleasantry. "We're leaving Suna. Now." He said, with an air of finality.

"…" The silver haired man raised his visible eyebrow. All of a sudden, he knew that whatever feeling that's been hitting him all morning had to do with why Naruto wanted to leave Suna. But why the hell did he want to know-

"Why?"

 **Thirty minutes before, (Neji, Lee, and Naruto's room.)**

The girl opened inky black eyes suddenly that begun gazing at the ceiling. They had a lack of focus at first but she was soon able to shake the cobwebs of her consciousness with a yawn and a stretch. That was when she realized that she was not in her bed, not in her room, not in her house.

And she most certainly did not accommodate white eyed people staring at her in her bedroom.

As her mind registered that fact, she sat up quickly with a startle, impulsively pulling her bed-sheet over herself up to the neck in a gasp to cover her body, because she usually slept in next to no clothing.

'What the… I am in clothes. Oh Kami, did I _sleep_ with that guy over there? Where is this?'

Neji merely scrutinized the girl whose face appeared as if her mind was going a mile a minute. "Matsuri, why are you here?"

"Neji? I-" She groaned as a small hangover struck her and she attempted to cure it by rubbing her temples. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hotel. Now answer my, and more important question. _Why are you here_?" He narrowed his eyes, now giving a threatening vibe.

"I-I-don't know! Honest!" She dropped the sheet to put her hands up in front of her, trying to show that she was in submission to Neji's reproof. "I don't even know how I got here!"

"Well? What is it you know?"

"I was walking home last night…" She wracked her brain for some sort of memory but all she got was a blank and the more she tried to remember, the more her head hurt.

"And?"

"That's it." She finished pulling off the sheet and got off the bed over the side, feet first.

Into a sleeping Naruto's gut.

The Uzumaki jolted out of his sleep and grabbed her legs and wrenched them, twisting the girl's whole body and she fell to the ground with her feet in a 'break-hold.' He held on to the flat of her feet, breaking it would be frighteningly simple.

"Gah! What the-?! Naruto! What are you doing!"

Naruto was about ready to make a simple savage jerk to break her ankles at the joint stopped when he heard her voice. He quickly gathered his bearings before he glanced at the owner of the legs face. "Matsuri?"

He quickly released his hold and got up. 'Sorry about the… instincts and all that… wait a minute." He narrowed his eyes as he recalled last night's events. 'Why the hell would I say I'm sorry?!"

Neji spared a glance at Naruto's futon on the ground. How could he have missed seeing that? 'That's my second strike. And it hasn't even been twelve hours properly.'

"What do you mean, why wouldn't you apologize?! You damned near broke both my legs!" She got back up and stood on one foot at a time, trying to massage the pain away from them with her hands.

"You should be the one apologizing. Twice even!" Naruto yelled back.

'Twice?' "I'm sorry for stepping on you. Although you kinda deserved it for sleeping right where I would descend the bed. I don't know what else I'm apologizing for." She tried to make peace cause the last thing she needed were two pissed off male teens who were far stronger instead of her being pissed at her own presence in their room.

"Where's the second apology?. And what kind of messed up apology is the first one, huh? About 'I deserved getting stepped on for where I was sleeping.' I'll have you know, you were sleeping in _**my**_ bed!"

"I don't know about any other wrong I did."

Naruto paused. Should she be saying 'sorry' for what happened? It was all an unfortunate accident, one that could be blamed on no one. Perhaps he had overreacted this morning and his thinking the night before.

"You're right. You didn't really do anything wrong." All of her deeds and actions flashed through his mind but he managed to suppress them. It wouldn't do to start reacting to them so, especially in front of said girl. "But you should be saying 'thanks' though."

"For what?" She lifted her eyebrows, wondering what he was getting at.

"Chivalry."

"Excuse me? What happened to me last night? And why am I in this hotel room with both of you?"

"Have you ever drunk any alcohol before?"

"No. Why?"

Naruto looked to the Hyuuga, before looking back to the brown haired Suna Nin. "You're a lightweight."

Neji's eyes widened. 'Did Naruto sleep with Matsuri?! In here?! I might as well be blind! She got drunk and he took advantage of her and-'

"You got wasted from the saki cake last night. When I saw you last night passing the hotel, you were drunk off your ass. I brought you inside, got you to change your clothes, take a shower and changed you into clothes you could sleep in and let you sleep in my bed while I slept on a futon on the ground here." He explained quickly.

Her mind, quick as a blink, caught up to what he was saying. "Oh. Thanks a lot. I really owe you…wait a minute." Her face reddened as her mood took a dangerous spike. "You **showered** me? Does that mean-!"

He lifted his hands in his defense. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I had a shadow clone do all the delicate work, so to speak."

Neji, who had been listening was relieved to know that he wasn't on some sort of 'clueless' streak. "But Naruto, don't your shadow clones transmit their memories to you?"

Naruto sighed. "Shit, Neji." His attention turned to the girl who looked about ready to blow her stack. 'Oh Kami.'

"Just to be clear, your clone showered me and saw every part of me?"

"Hai."

"And you got all the memories?"

"Hai." 'I don't like where this is going.'

"Did you perve on the memories?"

"No." His eyes wandered as he spoke, letting her know he was lying.

"You lying **Pervert**!"

"Oh crap. I was just trying to help…"

That was all he had to say before a knuckle sandwich made its way to his face. In a slight panic, he replaced himself with the nearest thing to his weight.

Unfortunately, his eyes landed on Neji.

The renowned Hyuuga got a black eye, getting knocked to the ground on his butt. Naruto, not sticking around for the fallout of the situation, fled in a shunshin to the hotel's roof where he could sense Kakashi's chakra signature vaguely.

" **And that's what happened,** Kakashi-sensei. We gotta go."

"Hold on." The silver haired jounin paused. "Did you _enjoy_ the memories?" The man looked as if he was smirking underneath his mask. The vibe was also strong as well.

The Uzumaki hesitated. "Ehh…Hai. At first but I disciplined myself. But that's not the point! We have to leave Suna, now!"

"You're gonna be like Sasuke? Always avoiding girls?"

"I'm not like that! Besides, this is different!"

A sand shunshin materialized next to them and Matsuri emerged from it. "Aha! I knew I sensed you up here!"

"!" Naruto leapt to his feet and started running away from her over the expansive roof. "I was trying to help!" He quickly spawned a dozen clones and ran interlacing with them in an effort to confuse her. They all soon disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Kuso!" She looked back to the Hatake briefly before she ran in a seemingly random direction. She would be damned if she let him get away from her!

Kakashi looked around again testily to look around for witnesses once more. Seeing none, he unsealed the cake again. He was about to pull down his mask for the second time but Gai seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Kakashi! My youthful RIVAL! Let us go on a sprint around the village's borders. We need to warm up for the morning's exercises!"

'Oh, brother.'

 **With the 'real' Naruto**

He dropped in front of the Kazekage's residence and ran to the door and knocked on it with his fist instead of his knuckles. Spotting the brass knocker, he rapped it on the door hard. In another moment, the door opened to reveal a sleepy looking Kankuro. Naruto barely recognized him without his makeup/'war-paint'.

"Wha…? Naruto? What the heck are you doing here? It's too early for this shit." He yawned and while rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Just let me in to see Gaara! Quick! I want some asylum!" He pushed in rudely passed the puppet user and rushed straight to Gaara's presumed office he went to the last time. He didn't even knock but barged in, only to find Gaara reading a book sitting in his seat with a cup of tea close by.

The young Kazekage, took a sip and continued reading. "I believe you're getting too casual with me, Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry and all that. Listen. It's about Matsuri."

The redhead put down his book, now interested since it concerned his subordinate. " _What about her_?"

Something about his best friend's tone when he mentioned her name made Gaara feel like Naruto sounded _guilty_ of doing something to offend her. Hence why he responded with a warning undertone. He smirked inwardly as he saw Naruto looking thoroughly intimidated.

'Quick. Divert the conversation. QUICK!' "Is there any reason why Matsuri could mistake me for you?"

"…?"

"It happened after I left. When I saw her going home drunk, she kept thinking I was you, for some reason, even though we're completely different.

*sip* "She's a sensor, to some extent."

"A sensor?"

"Hai. Perhaps our biju chakra gives us near identical auras. She probably won't make this mistake while sober, but if she's inebriated, it would make sense that she could make such an easy mistake. The ability though, when she uses it drains her monumentally. She doesn't use it often now, as a result." *sip*

"That make's sense, although my biju chakra supersedes yours by far. Wait a minute. She's a sensor? Shit."

The room was barged into by the Suna kunoichi, her rage fuel reddening her face. "Aha! I found you!"

"Oh come on! As a defense mechanism, he tried to mentally reach for nature chakra to access sage mode. In his lack of a serene mind, he was too slow and he was a nearly a victim to the girl's anger.

In fact, if it hadn't been for Gaara's sand restraining the girl's hands, Naruto might as well have been unconscious judging by the veins that were bulging in her hand, straining in an effort to get free. Gaara manipulate Matsuri to force her to sit in an empty chair. Glaring at Uzumaki, he also took a seat, albeit hesitantly next to the girl.

"You both are behaving unbecoming of your age. It would do you well to amend yourselves." Gaara said in monotone.

Naruto glanced at the kunoichi next to him. "I was only trying to help. If you would prefer, the next time you get drunk and pass out, you can sleep in the gutters."

"I think I would prefer that over visual rape!"

"Someone would probably rape you in your sleep, anyway. You got showered and you didn't even wake up." He shot back. Getting a slight feel of killing intent coming from Gaara, he stopped, mostly out of respect and self composure than fear of his friend.

"We need to fix this dilemma. Matsuri, if you know that you can't handle alcohol, why did you eat the wine cake instead of the sponge cake?"

"…You and Naruto were very impressed by the cake's standards and so I decided to try it for myself."

"More like a need to impress a certain guy." Naruto muttered.

He was ignored as Gaara pressed on. "None the less, if you couldn't handle the first few bites, what made you think it would get easier to manage as you went on?"

"Acquired taste…?" She said uneasily.

"Go on."

She quickly told of all that happened from her point of view and limited memories. Naruto went next and told of all that happened, up until he arrived in Gaara's office. He also omitted several details like the kiss. He certainly didn't want to dig his own grave even deeper.

"Enough. From what I was told, this is a very petty situation, stemming from someone's good intentions."

"Yeah, we all know where that leads." The Kunoichi muttered.

"He was trying to help you the best way he knew how. The fact that he got a clone to do most of the sensitive work shows that he was considerate of your chastity. Although he should have recalled the fact of memory transfer, from what I was told. I believe you should be thanking him for all he had done for you, not trying to fight him. He bathed you, clothed you and let you sleep in his own bed while he took the floor."

She stopped to think about what the Kazekage said. All he had told her had made sense and it stood to reason that she should be grateful to Naruto. At least he didn't try to feel her up or kiss her or anything. "You're right, Gaara-sama. Naruto, arigato, for helping me."

"And I'm sorry for not explaining myself properly." Naruto responded.

"All right. Now both of you, hug to ensure friendship."

Naruto's eyebrows nearly lifted completely off his face. "Could you repeat that in my good ear?" He turned his head sideways to the Kazekage to 'listen' better to the redhead who was not smiling whatsoever.

" **Hug**." Killing intent crashed down on two, making them sweat in nervousness. They both got up and hugged each other awkwardly before Gaara nodded in acceptance, stopping the KI. They sat back down in their seats before he continued.

"Now that that issue has been resolved, I some news that concerns Matsuri. I'll proceed when Naruto fetches Kakashi-san. I cannot tell Naruto- he has no authority because he is still a genin."

"Hmph. I'm jounin level, for Kami's sake." He got up and shunshinned away to retrieve the Hatake. In a few short minutes, they both reappeared in the office. Kakashi bowed his head in greeting as he stood next to his student.

"Kakashi-san, good morning. I won't beat around the bush. Matsuri is going to Konoha with you all."

"?" "Say what?" "I am?"

"She is. I need an ambassador there and a messenger to Suna should anything happen."

"Wha…What? What about Temari-sama? I don't want to leave Suna! This is my home!" The girl protested.

"Yeah. What about Temari? Besides, she likes to stay in Konoha and visit…err, Shikamaru." Naruto added.

"She's taking a rather long leave from her duties. Her so called vacation days have built up on each other and she's 'cashing it in', or so I've been told. She's going to be in another nation altogether. Matsuri is going in her stead."

"But why me? Why not someone further up the chain of command? I'm not that important, just an orph-"

Naruto glared at the girl, who shut up. Gaara leaned towards them comspirationally and took a moment to activate a privacy seal for the room.

"In short, from ever since, members of Suna's council have been wayward in their moral compasses and dealings with me. If you looked around, you would realize that only those I trust the most are those I give important roles, as in the case of my sister, Baki, and now, you." He pointed at the girl. "They are currently pushing for one of their nominations for the role of ambassadors but I ousted their proposal for you, Matsuri."

'Gaara-sama trusts me that much?'

"It almost felt as they were displeased at my return and there's currently a small investigation into their backgrounds and profiles. When the time is right, I'll personally deal with them. In the meantime, Matsuri will be staying on Konoha for six months to be Temari's temporary replacement. What say you, Hatake-san?"

"It sounds feasible. One ambassador's as good as another, I suppose. I'm sure that the Hokage will accept the change and if she doesn't, my student here can convince her. They're quite close."

"Hold on. What am I, insurance?"

"Frankly, Naruto, you are." Gaara said dryly. "When will you be leaving?"

"In an hour, at ten a.m."

 **This really felt like a rushed chapter but in truth, this took me a single day. The chapter came really easy, like breathing.**

 **Why didn't I update it sooner?**

 **I don't want to distract you people from your daily lives in the week. Just chill out and read at your own leisure on the weekends.**

 **That's all folks.**

 **Sayonara.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **It's been another fortnight and as usual, I've been very busy, what with this story, , L. Twice and now, Omniscience, a one shot in progress, I'm putting out nearly 40k a month, along with living like everyone else.**

 **Take the chappie so I can start typing the others.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I own my one-shot** _ **Omniscience.**_

She finished sealing the last of her clothes inside the large scroll. Hearing a small noise in the kitchen, she looked up sharply.

"I'm not carrying my kitchen sink, y'know!"

"Ha, ha." A male voice called back sarcastically. "I'm just looking around to see what food you can bring and what you can throw out. Besides, it's six months, might as well, right?"

The sound of paper rustling was heard and then, clearly audible chewing and crunching.

"Ah! Are you eating my food?!"

Naruto came in while wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "No." He was betrayed by a small burp that escaped his mouth. He grinned embarrassedly at the kunoichi who fumed.

"What was that?! Was that my sweet-plum flavored dango?!"

"Well, it was gonna go bad in a week or so, but today, it was still _very_ good." His eyebrows narrowed a little. "However, in the bag, I saw the horrible price tag and I realized that the dango in Konoha was far better and cheaper. So in all actuality, I did you a favor." *Burp* "S'cuse me."

"I was gonna eat that this morning for the extra energy for the run to the Leaf! And that was the sweetest thing I had!"

Naruto unsealed a piece of cake from his arm and waved it under her chin. Catching a whiff of it, she back pedaled away from him. "Oh no. I'm not hopping unto that ride again." Shrugging, he sealed it again back into his arm, which she eyed carefully. "Do you have anything sweet in a seal on your arm?"

"Sure. What d'ya want?"

"I want the same dango _you just ate!_ Please."

The Sage sweat dropped. "I only have chocolate covered dango."

"Even better! Now hand it over." She stretched one hand out to him while raising her other hand in a fist threateningly. Very reluctantly, yet anxious to please, he obliged and gave it to her. His hand nearly burst into flames at the ferocity of her snatch from his palm and in no time at all, the dumplings were all gone. Seeing her eat like that reminded him a bit of himself when he had seen slideshow pictures of himself that Ayame, his surrogate sister, had taken of him eating ramen when he was smaller.

"Take it easy, it's not gonna run away from you, y'know."

"I've had the displeasure of people running away _with_ my food. Now hurry up and help me pack!"

He merely waved his hand over the room in a sweep. "We're already done. Now let's go." He said simply.

She looked around and saw he was correct. She was already in her Kunoichi outfit so she was ready and prepared to leave. Realizing this, the thought struck her that she was leaving Suna… her home for all her life. Six months should hardly have been a big deal but she had never been away for more than a single one. Six months? She might as well stay there, for all the time she was going to spend in The Hidden Leaf.

"You gonna be all right?" The Uzumaki raised an eyebrow.

"I'm…abandoning my home…" The whisper was barely audible.

"No you're not." He answered sternly. "You're doing your country a great service and it needs you in Konoha for it to be strong. Is that abandonment?"

"…" She mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I said **no**. But all my friends are here… And Ittetsu…the Subaku."

He gave her a minute before he started speaking again. "I was targeted, for being a Jinchuriki," He began. "I was being targeted by the Akatsuki. Filled with bad people and boogiemen and what not. Nasty people at the very least."

She looked up to him as he continued.

"So my sensei, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, told the Hokage that he wanted to carry me on a training trip. I was at first, eager to go with him. Maybe learn some awesome jutsu." He chuckled here and elicited one from her as well. "But when I learned that it was going to take two to three years, I was about to change my mind."

"But you still went on the trip." She figured. "How come?"

"It took quite a few people actually, including Kakashi-sensei, my jounin teacher. He had gotten hurt when Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had come to capture me. Later, Sasuke, my defected teammate got hurt as well to his brother. Kakashi told me that he wanted me to get strong so next time, we could fight at each other's sides, and not one looking out for each other in intervals. And so I went, keeping that in mind. It's not really because of Sasuke, or because of a need to get stronger. It was because I needed to be able to look out for others, as well as my home, instead of it just sheltering me. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

She smiled. "Yeah. I do. You're saying that I shouldn't be doing this based on my wants, but on the needs that my village has for me to do my part."

"Exactly." He smiled back. "Let's go."

She placed the storage scroll on her backpack along with some miscellaneous supplies for the trip. Naruto led the way out of her apartment and she left it and locked the door, the living space devoid of any evidence of occupation.

In fact, her bold mood lasted all the way to Suna's gate where the Sabakus were waiting to see her off, as well as her teammates. Her teammates were curt and they challenged her to a spar when she returned from the leaf, on the grounds that a lot of strong people lived in the leaf while a few in Suna.

"You better come back strong, Matsuri! I can't keep pulling the weight of the team, you know." Ittesu joked.

"You?! Pulling my weight! You're gonna get it when I come back, y'hear!" She punched him playfully on the shoulder. He laughed and excused himself. He and their comrade left quickly to go get a bit to eat.

The Sabakus' goodbyes…while mirth was there for anyone to see and hear, she felt most determined to come back stronger, if not for her team's sake, but for the sake of her own pride. She felt really obligated to 'put out more desirable results' for Gaara to see for he was the one to instill confidence in her as well as train her to an extent.

"Make sure you don't wreck our good name over in Konoha, girl." Temari piped up. "I really made sure I was completely reputable and upright over there."

"I'll make sure I don't get involved in any wrong doing." She answered firmly.

"It's not a duty, Matsuri. It'll be fine to socialize and such during your stay there. You only need to make sure you are present at all meetings where your presence is required as well as send letters about what we need to know. Just be sure to be very clear in what you right so that it doesn't come across that you're sending secret messages that you may be spying to collect."

"Clarity. I can do that."

"Uh huh." Kankuro nodded. "The whole 'fine to socialize' thing that little brother just said…don't do it to a degree like that issue this morning."

"That…was an isolated incident." She replied, blushing a bit.

"Sure it was. And another thing…Temari here used to sleep with Shikamaru-"

"What?!" Gaara, the _Gaara_ , exclaimed with some killing intent rising.

"Calm down. I don't mean sex related." Kankuro said nervously. "I meant that she slept at his house. I mean the whole thing was very cost efficient, no one minded, and on top of that, the Naras were glad to have her, err, so I've been told."

"True." Temari said in agreement.

"So you're suggesting that she sleep at someone's house? She doesn't know anyone that well, nor does anyone her and boarding in someone's home could be scandalous."

"Everyone knows that Shika and Temari here are into each other, and I've never heard any rumors or scandals." Kakashi butted in.

"But I can't afford to pay for boarding at an inn for half a year! Nor have I made enough to rent somewhere for that long. It would kill my savings. Unless if I were to get-"

"You don't get pay before you work, Matsuri. Besides. Do you want to spend your earnings on what you work?" Kankuro interrupted.

"N…No." She admitted. "She brightened up after some thinking. "What if I stayed with Naruto!"

"What?!" Naruto yelled the interrobang, making Kakashi rub his ear to soothe the ache it got.

"Please?" Her bottom lip quivered as her eyes grew to massive proportions while they inexplicably glimmered.

"Holy crap! Puppy eyes! Someone help me! Please, I don't wanna give in!"

The Hatake rolled his visible eye. "Stop overreacting Naruto. Besides, you live in what most people would call a dump. She should stay somewhere else."

"Not a dump for long." Naruto pointed out while trying to avoid looking at the Suna Kunoichi with the impossible face.

"How come?"

"Dad." Naruto said sternly, making the Cyclops eye widen.

"D…dad? What about this 'dad'?"

"Stop pretending you don't know what I'm talking about, Kakashi. Kuso, it's as if everyone still takes me for a wet-behind-the-ears brat."

It was all he would say while the copy cat ninja had the decency to at least look ashamed. Soon , the rest of the Leaf Nin left and with a few more short words, Naruto side hugging Gaara and wishing him the best, they started running to the leaf village, hands behind them to cut through the air quicker.

They soon broke clear of just endless sand and random trees became more and more frequent until the ground became solid and the few trees…a grassland and from a grassland…a forest. The whole journey no one really spoke but one could feel a small need to get to the village more quickly.

Someone mumbled something and Neji looked to the person. "What is it, Kakashi-san?"

"I had…forgotten to send Tsunade-sama a message on our progress. She's still in the dark about what really happened."

Recalling her master's anger that sometimes came to the fore, she nodded. "Yeah, you're probably gonna get it, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hey Naruto, mind being there as a human shield…Err, I mean support?"

"Don't speak to me, Hatake." The Uzumaki kept staring ahead, not bothering to look at his Jounin sensei.

The silver-haired man closed his visible eye. He was certain that his attempt at some humor would have been enough to patch the rift he had inadvertently created between him and his student.

"Yikes. What happened between you two?" Tenten asked, her eyes wandering between the two males. Lee turned to Naruto who was running beside him.

"Naruto-kun, that behavior is not youthful."

The Uzumaki frowned. His eyes closed while running and a few moments later, they opened, revealing the trademark eyes of Toad Sage mode. He shot off like a rocket with nary a word to anyone. They all looked at his disappearing figure worriedly before turning to Kakashi, their gazes questioning him.

"He thinks that I'm treating him like a kid."

Matsuri finally understood what was going on. "He had told me that the main reason why he left to go on the training trip was to be able to fight at your side, and not you looking out for him like a caretaker."

Neji caught on as well. "And by treating him as if he were a child, he's become upset with you."

"I didn't really do anything wrong. I was merely being cautious." The man defended. Maito looked to his 'eternal rival' and raised an eyebrow.

"What was the matter about?"

Kakashi stared at all the members of the younger generation around him. "I cannot say."

"Well, given that he spoiled the secret of his being the Jinchuriki of the Nine tailed Fox last night, what could be more secret than that?" Tenten asked.

Gai and Kakashi kept their surprise well hidden . 'Naruto told them? Why would he be so casual about it?' "None the less, I cannot say anything. Drop the issue." The silver haired man said firmly.

"I…I'm gonna try and catch up to see if I can talk to him." The Suna Kunoichi said suddenly.

"No offense, Matsuri, but I think his speed is completely out of your league, even without that Sage-mode of his." Neji remarked. "And besides, what good would it do if you spoke to him now?"

"Well, I dunno. I can at least try, right?" She leapt to the next branch and as soon as her feet made contact, she 'forced' more chakra to her legs and jumped away further away in an attempt to catch up. Soon, she was out of sight due to the foliage of the trees.

"I wonder how long she can keep up that speed?" Lee wondered.

 **XxX**

She didn't know how long she had been running but she really hoped that she wasn't getting lost. While she had been to The Leaf before, she was always following someone else who knew the way and all the trees looked the same. She began to muse if they were running a straight line to Konoha because if they weren't, she would pass it and never would know.

She had even started having thoughts of waiting for the others to be sure but it would bring her shame and embarrassment. Sure, no one liked having that but it was better than being all alone by one's lonesome not knowing where to go. Besides, she was getting really tired as channeling chakra constantly for so long was starting to put a strain in her body.

Suddenly, her eyes caught a footprint mark, deeply set in a tree branch. Convinced that it was Naruto's for his enhanced body causing such an effect, she forgot her weariness and continued. However, to make sure, she tried to sense for his chakra and aura, only to discover that he was only in front of her by a hundred meters and no longer using Sage mode. Forcing herself to continue, she dashed off even more quickly than before in an effort to catch up.

Soon, he was in sight and with an 'oomph' of effort, she forced the dregs of her chakra to her feet to power a leap that would certainly bring her to his side, if not more and overshoot.

He turned around, having sensed her chasing after him from miles back, only to see her jumping to his side in a slight strafe. 'Huh. I wonder if I should've just kept on the sage mode and just kept running. Why would she try to catch up to me?'

"Naruto! Wait up!" She called.

He merely remained as he were- that is, tree hopping casually.

She realized in frustration that she was still going to fall short. 'Damn it! I won't be weak!' She landed behind him heavily on the branch. Jumping off of it, she made a large fault-crack in it and hopped again. "C'mon! Wait!"

He closed his eyes in an effort to ignore her but found that he couldn't tune her out, most certainly because it was a violation of his true character. "Leave me be!" He took off more strongly, and in that instant, the girl felt woefully outclassed as she saw him gain even more ground.

Growling, she dug deep and prepared herself for one last jump-dash to catch up. Her aching legs threatened to give up on her but she herself refused to do so. Moreover, she felt that somewhere, deep in her mind that he was testing her. Call her crazy, but she really felt so.

But she had no idea why she would even try to step up to such a challenge.

Planting her feet firmly, she bent her legs fully at the knee and gave one mighty leap to the Uzumaki. In a small measure of delight, she saw that she would land right in front of him. But the feeling was dashed when she saw that his next leap would carry him to the lead again. In fact, he was just in front her now, upon landing, she made one last attempt to catch up to him. Her hand reached out and grasped at his shirt collar.

But even that too, was nullified due to the fact that her body practically went into shutdown and her body just…stopped taking orders from her mind. His collar slipped from her grip.

Her feet made it to the branch to land on but they never transferred the momentum properly and started to trip. As she made the mistake, she unwittingly allowed the error of diving head and shoulders at Naruto's fleeting back. He was mid jump at the time and her weight crashing into him threw him off balance, sending them both careening now to the ground, their body weight increasing their falling velocity.

And in spite of this, she actually had the nerve to _smile_ , knowing that she had caught up to him. The knowledge that she had reached him, despite his being at least twice as fast as her without any enhancements made her happy.

'And Neji said he outclassed me. Guess even a weakling like me can be strong…' Her mind then fled from her.

The blond turned while in midair and saw that she was somehow unconscious. He grabbed one of her flailing arms and pulled her to him. Once doing so, he wrapped his arm around her waist, then hefted her into a bridal carry and channeled a ridiculous amount of chakra to his legs so he could land safely with the extra weight.

Upon landing in such a manner, he very nearly let go of her to do a fist pump in celebration. 'Nailed it!' He glanced down at her now serene face and smiled. 'Well, she doesn't know when to give up. In fact, she kinda reminds me of…well, me.'

He adjusted her to his back and let her arms drop over his shoulders while leaning forward. With that done, he lifted her legs and held them carefully and started carrying her in a piggyback ride but instead of running or tree hopping, he walked. They were close enough as it is and besides, they would still make it ahead of the rest of the leaf nin-…they were that far ahead of them.

 **And…scene.**

 **I figured that this chapter was to make Naruto bond with Matsuri more by trying to create some similarities between them. Later, in the Leaf, I'll be sure to start making them closer friends, then the fluff.**

 **That's all folks.**

 **Sayonara.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **Alright! Spectacular chapter Seven! Time to see what I can do further this relationship!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Maybe I could get ownership for Christmas…? Nah. Better not get my hopes up. I'll just see what kind of 'wish' one shot story I can put out.**

 **7!**

"Huh?"

Her dark irises were revealed when opened her closed eyes, taking in her surroundings. At first, she wondered why was it that all she could see was a yellow forest instead of a green one, but she soon realized that she was staring at the back of someone's …head?

"Wha…? Naruto?"

He did not turn around. "Good afternoon, Matsuri."

She fidgeted a little, trying to remember where she was and what happened. "What…where are we?"

"You're on my back, about one mile from Konoha's main gate. You tackled me during mid-jump and you fell unconscious because of chakra exhaustion, no doubt because of your efforts to catch up to me."

"Oh is that all?" She asked a bit sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "You say that as if this is normal behavior."

"I'm getting used to the idea of you doing something crazy before you black out." He said with a grin. "Anyway, can you walk by yourself?"

"…I can't feel my legs."

"Oh well. Why were you trying to catch up with me anyway?" He cocked up an eyebrow but naturally, she couldn't see this due to her position.

"It's about what your sensei said." She answered, testing the waters. No doubt that whatever this topic was about, it was pretty touchy for him. That was made especially obvious judging by how the temperature seemed to drop.

"Oh. That."

"I know why you might feel that way-"

"You barely know five things about me. True, one of them is important and supposed to be a secret but still less than five. Are we friends? Acquaintances? More like people who see each other from time to time." He said, almost with a snarl.

"We've gotta be more than that. Last night, you took care of me when I was drunk; let me sleep in your bed…" She started listing things off.

He growled a little in his throat but she continued, disregarding it. "Just this morning you volunteered to help me pack my things, offered to let me stay with you in Konoha and you're even carrying me right now-"

He let her go without any warning, allowing her to fall of his back unto her rear on the ground.

"Oof! What?!"

"If that's the case, walk there yourself." He continued walking away, not even sparing a backwards glance.

"You're a Jinchuriki, you're chivalrous, you can't get drunk, you're extremely helpful…!" She yelled out after him.

"That's four things!" He yelled, not turning around or slowing down in the least.

"…And you don't want to leave me here by myself." She said quietly.

He stopped when he heard this. He brought up his hand and ran it through his hair and sighed, the action making him look extremely regretful. She stared at him, wondering what he was thinking about. She meant all that she said and she wasn't about to rescind her statement.

He turned slowly and came back to her, looking down at her where she sat on the grass. She had not moved a muscle since falling and he momentarily wondered if it was natural for a girl to fall on her bottom so 'gracefully.'

She did not say anything; all she did was look him in the eyes before he fully relented. "Aw, what the hell. That's five things. Let's see… You're Gaara's pupil, one of the few people to use a jōhyō, quite well I might add, a lightweight drinker, you're a sensor-type ninja and you don't give up." He smiled at when he this. "I think this was the best character trait someone could have but in hindsight, other people without it would find that to be annoying."

"Are you calling me annoying?"

"Did I say I don't have the character trait?" He turned around and crouched on the balls of his feet, motioning for her to grab his shoulders. When she did, he stood up again and held unto her legs behind the knees. Satisfied that she was in another secure piggyback carrying-style, he started walking again.

"No. So you're saying you don't give up?"

"No. Not now, not ever." He said firmly.

"Guess that's six things I know." She smirked while saying this. He looked over his shoulder and saw it and strangely, he found it…alluring in some way. He shook his head slightly to chase away such thoughts and continued walking.

He did answer so she continued. "Anyway, I guess I can understand why you're angry with Kakashi but is it so much of a big deal to just leave everyone behind to come back home more quickly?"

He thought about it a little. "Hmm. You're right. _I should have broken his jaw, then hurry up and go home._ "

"You're also scary when you need to be. I guess that's seven."

"Scary? Then I'll just punch him in the face. But not hard enough to break his jaw. Is that what you're saying? I have broken his jaw already, not even a week ago. Our famous Super medic for a Hokage had to heal it for him, along with some broken ribs."

"Yep. Still scary." She said with a growing sweat-drop. "What's the big deal about your father anyway for both of you to be carrying on about it like that?"

He debated with himself if he could tell her or not but thought that he should explain a little but she could perhaps know the real important details later.

Perhaps.

"To understand this, you must know about my background. In short, I was a loser, a loudmouth and above all, a liability for being a Jinchuriki.

"What's with all the 'L's?"

He shook his head. "Don't mind that. All you need to know was that I was the last person who you could tell a secret to."

"A secret? What does that have to do with your father?"

He gritted his teeth. "My heritage…knowledge of who my parents were kept from me. Everything about them was kept secret. I found out who they were from the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi? Hw can you trust what it says?"

"I don't. But what Kakashi did confirmed it." He sighed. "If my parents, especially my father were nobodies or no one knew who they were, he wouldn't have reacted. Maybe he would have said something like 'is that so?' or 'who were they?'"

"I kinda got that kind of vibe from him." She thought aloud.

"No. I could sense his heart-rate speed up, eye dilation and by saying 'what about this 'dad'?' I mean, he practically used quotation around the word 'dad'."

"So the Kyuubi was telling the truth. What does that mean for you, anyway?"

"The bane of my existence, my worst enemy, the curse I can neither hide or run from told me the truth, whereas family and supposed friends have been lying or…" He growled when he said this most unnervingly, scaring Matsuri a little. "Hold onto me tighter."

"W-W…whyyy?!" He took off like a proverbial bullet through the green of the forest, abandoning the brown part. The girl was nearly scared out her wits as he dashed from tree branch to tree branch at insane speeds. It was all she could do but to hold on tight to his shoulders. The forest rushed by them and then all of a sudden, the light at the end of it that signaled a clearing was upon them. Another split-second after that, they were at Konoha's main gate.

The wind they had parted when Naruto ran though it swiftly filled the 'vacuum' he had created, flowing into and finally blew from behind them to the front of them in a rather strong gust. The wind alarmed the 'Eternal Gate Guards', Kotetsu and Izumo a bit, and made them squint their eyes because of the fact that some dust was kicked up by the wind into their faces.

"Get off of me…" Naruto growled without looking back at his 'passenger'. " **Please.** "

She hurriedly let go and stood on her two feet, albeit weakly from her own earlier chakra exhaustion. Izumo ran past Naruto to support the girl at the shoulder while Kotetsu stared at the Uzumaki dumbly.

"Na-Na-Naruto? W-w-w-what's wrong-"

" **Don't ask questions. Just get her to the Hokage…** "

Izumo frowned. "Why the hell would we do that?! She's from Suna! She doesn't have any sort of clearance-"

A low growling was heard and before anyone could do or say anything, Naruto was in front of Izumo, gripping the man by his vest. The man was terrified as he stared into Naruto's feral visage; slit blood-red eyes and deep-etched whisker marks.

" **Now…** "

The man nodded fervently and Naruto released him. He glanced momentarily at Matsuri who looked a bit afraid of him, seeing him look and behave like he was. He shut his eyes and disappeared in a **shunshin**.

The two Chunin wondered briefly if they should just do what he asked. As if on cue, they felt the teenager's fear-commanding presence again and Izumo quickly escorted the Suna Kunoichi to the Hokage's office while Kotetsu continued to watch the gate.

Matsuri was hobbling a bit and Izumo cursed to himself at their slow speed of travel. He performed a handseal and grabbed Matsuri, body-flickering to Hokage's tower where the office was in a poof of smoke. The body flicker took some seconds, but when they arrived, they appreciated the time they saved getting there.

"Before I get you to the office, why are you here, anyway?" Izumo asked.

"I'm the new ambassador for Suna."

Izumo shrugged at this, recalling that it was Temari who was the ambassador. He would have asked more questions but judging from how Naruto treated the girl, he doubted that he should ask anymore questions. What and how the Uzumaki said 'don't ask questions', he nearly shat his pants.

Besides, if the girl was a threat, Tsunade of the Sannin was hailed as the strongest Kunoichi, both literally and prowess wise. And if that wasn't enough, the anbu hidden in the Office would tear her to pieces. So if she suddenly got it into her head to cross the Fire Shadow in any way, it was her own funeral. If she got lucky enough to get one, that is.

"Alright. Here's the Office." Izumo finally brought the girl to what looked like a thick wooden-door and knocked.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice came.

"It's Izumo, and the new Suna ambassador." The leaf chunin answered.

There was what sounded like a shuffling of paper's, some clinks of glass which was probably a glass bottle before the same woman told them to come inside.

They entered into the room to find all in order while Izumo helped Matsuri to the seat in front of the Hokage. Said leader was a beautiful woman wearing a grass-green haori over a grey kimono-style blouse with no sleeves. This was held closed by a rather broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matched her pants. The woman was blonde with honey colored eyes and wore pink lipstick.

Matsuri slightly shrunk under the Tsunade's rather intimidating gaze. When the woman leveled her stare towards Izumo, the man began to sweat.

"What happened to Temari?"

"She's taking a vacation leave." Matsuri piped up. "That's why I'm her temporary replacement."

"What say you to prove this?"

"Uhh… I have knowledge about Kazekage's Gaara's wellbeing. And Naruto can swear for me."

The woman cocked up an eyebrow. "Against my better judgment, I'm going to say you, a random kunoichi from Suna who seems chakra exhausted, are the new Suna ambassador and you have little to no proof that you are?"

"Hmm. Let's see. Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki were sent to retrieve the Kazekage and team Gai composed of Maito Gai, Neji Hyuuga, Tenten Higurashi and Rock Lee."

"That knowledge isn't really special. Someone could have seen them leaving the village."

The girl sweated a little. 'C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…' "How Team seven fared off fighting the Akatsuki."

Tsunade let up on her piercing gaze and adopted a more curious countenance. "Continue."

'Whew.' "So after leaving Suna…"

 **With Naruto**

He was on his bed, trying his best to calm himself down.

Sitting in a lotus position on the bed and his eyes lidded, the young man tried to suppress his anger but failed to recede the influence of the Kyuubi. Soon realizing his mistake, he stopped 'trying' and gave up, careful about not giving himself to the Kitsune. He needed to focus on one thing as a distraction, before fully meditating.

'Hmm. Lets see. A Rasengan? No. Too clashing.' He ceased thinking of that one thing and continued thinking of single things in an effort to distract himself from what all his loved ones did-

'Shit, shit, shit.' It got a little worse as his canines elongated and his nails grew. **"Keep trying, Naruto! What else? Ramen?"**

" **Sarutobi-jiji?"**

He started releasing the Kyuubi's chakra, the essence of which started to burn his skin.

" **He must've known. He must've been the first!"** He bit out angrily. Taking a deep breath, he continued, trying to look past it.

" **My dream of becoming Hokage? But…but… to become Hokage meant lying to those who care about you and vice versa?"**

He closed his eyes, realizing that he was forming a fox shroud.

" **Hmph. I'll think about that later. Stuff's not going to work. I need to focus on people."**

" **Sakura?"**

No.

"Sasuke?"

He nearly lost it.

Ayame-neechan?

Good, but not good enough.

Hinata?

Err…

Neji?

Nope.

Tenten?

Nuh huh.

Teuchi-ojisan?

Who?

" **That's the Leaf village."**

The shroud was growing worse. No doubt that the other ninja had sensed it and were coming for him now. If they came, all they would accomplish is shatter his frayed concentration and meditation attempt. He immediately shunshinned to the Hokage Stone faces, purely on reflex and instinct.

Once there, he continued. People who he helped, faces came to mind and left, from those of Wave country to Snow/Spring country. None helped.

"Gaara? Temari? What's-his-face?"

No.

Matsuri?

For some reason, his mind stayed on that person. Instead of just a single passing memory of the person's face, he recalled all that had happened thus far between him and Matsuri.

 _Come on, Matsuri, use your legs._

…

 _Feh, that's just tradition._

 _Let's just cut through the whole tangled problem and enter at the same time, huh?_

The cloak started to recede from his person; eagerly, he continued to remember the events between them.

 _Aren't you under aged?_

 _Old enough to kill, old enough to…eat this saki-bomb of a cake. Wow?_

…

 _Does this mean I have a plague? A sign that says 'unclean'?_

 _Meh. Nothing's changed for me, I guess._

 _Thanks Matsuri._

 _Whatever._

…

 _You can touch them anytime you like, Gaara-sama._

His face reddened when he remembered that. The shroud completely disappeared and all he had left was the feral visage and the elongated nails.

 _ **The memories of how she looked naked was coursing through his mind, giving him an intense nosebleed and a blush that was hot enough to cook a meal on.**_

The whiskers were gone and the nails were shrinking. His face was still crimson but he continued nonetheless.

 _ **She kissed him full on the lips and all he could think about was the mechanics and the ramifications of the kiss, instead of on the kiss itself.**_

The nails were all gone. All that was left was his slit eyes. He was almost joyous, although embarrassed. All he needed was one more push. But what was more outstanding than that?

 _You're a Jinchuriki, you're chivalrous, you can't get drunk, you're extremely helpful…!_

 _That's four things!_

… _And you don't want to leave me here by myself._

The deep scarlet and black washed out of his eyes, fading back to their original cerulean colour. However, he continued to sit there, thinking about the Suna girl. Did he like her that much for the memories of her to have such a profound effect on the Kyuubi's influence?

"I…" He stuttered. "She's a good friend of mine now. She's a lot like me. She has a need to impress others like me, she has a pained background like me, brash like me…" His countenance fell into something more languid instead of tense. "Yet she's humble, looks past my profile as a jinchuriki as if it was something normal, She cares about me enough to try and overtake me in speed to talk to me; pushing herself to chakra exhaustion. Even though I took it easy when I sensed her following me, her tackling me took me by surprise. That means that she's willing to risk life and limb for something."

" **Don't lull yourself into a misbegotten complacency, you foolish insect."**

Naruto frowned. "Kyuubi."

" **I see that you were able to suppress my influence by meditating on this weakling of a human."**

"She's not weak. She's strong."

" **You just admitted that you allowed her to catch up to you. Even in Suna you practically toyed with her while you went to take a piss."**

"I'm far stronger in prowess. But she's just as strong as I in willpower." Naruto bit out. He soon calmed down but the Kitsune didn't relent.

" **You may think so, but when she's not around, be it in presence or your mind, who do you think will win? You'll be a beast in all, mind, body and soul and I'll be released. Just you wait. The first thing I'll do is to devour your carcasses."**

The demon finally went silent as Naruto started smiling. "Well, I guess I'll just have to keep Matsuri close then, ne?"

 **And that's spectacular seven. Naruto's coming to grips, Kyuubi's acting like a prick and Matsuri is…still nervous in front of Tsunade. Poor girl.**

 **Anyway, I won't be updating this story until January because…well… it's a break. Not a hiatus, just a break. Besides, I told you how much I type. Don't you think I deserve it?**

 **Don't forget to review, review, review! Motivation is powerful. Tongue lashings and corporal punishment also works wonders. As for the word goal, damn-it-all! Why is it that I always pass the word goal, huh? I haven't done so yet but if you look at the current word count, it might as well have given the point at which we are in the story.**

 _ **Happy Holidays.**_

 _ **MRAY 4TW.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **Hello. I'm back in Black! Err…**

 **I'm single and ready to mingle? No, that's not it.**

 **Say hello to my lit- ah, forget it.**

 **Good day/night. It's been a good break for me, and I hope that you had a good one too. If not, well, that sucks. Almost as bad as a 'Blues Monday'. (Third Monday in January.)**

 **Be advised: I started an 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' story. (It's a pleasant change of pace, who says we each have to have only one fandom?) The updates may not always come every two weeks. I'll try, but you know that God's name isn't MRAY 4TW. Should you ever get bored, check out my other stories in the meantime. (Self-advertising: Please check out my newfound series of one-shots under the name 'Ultimatum.' They're all original ideas that I don't want to associate with any fandom.)**

 **Disclaimer: I found out that writing the disclaimer the way I do (I don't own Naruto) is like defending yourself from a bullet with a toothpick. Next to no chance of winning, but a chance none the less for us humble F-Fiction writers.**

 **I don't own Naruto. All of the rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Hayato Date, Shueisha, Studio Pierrot, TV Tokyo and Viz media.**

 **Whew! Now I'm protected by Kevlar all over, not to mention the gun only fires blanks now.**

 **8.**

" **Grrrrr."**

The low growl of the Kyuubi remained somewhat, reverberating in his mind. However, it did not dishevel him; he had heard it before often enough. Hell, he had made the sound before when he had embraced the Hate accidentally in the past. Survival reflexes and instinct, if you wished.

Although, he couldn't help but wonder why the thoughts of his brief companionship with the Suna Kunoichi held such power over him. Not necessarily **him** , mind you, but over the influence of the Demon Fox. It made no sense. Not even his current generation friends, but someone he knew for what? Thirty-six, maybe forty hours, tops.

She tried to beat on him, he made a fool out of her, she spoke with him and he vice versa. They conversed, in a sense related on their childhoods, drew strength from being dauntless, frank with each other.

Still nothing.

Was it seeing her naked? Then what about the silhouette of the girl who danced near the waterfall on his mission with Team 8 to find the Bikochu Beetle?

Still nothing.

She tried to beat the tar out of him when she found out about…that? It was a normal reaction for a girl, he supposed. Besides, Sakura still tried to do that, anyway. It didn't work when he thought of her.

Still nothing.

Was it about the fact that she tried to catch up to him because she was worried for him? Hmm. That could be it. How many other people went out of their way to find him when they were worried for him? Let's see…there was…uhh…what about…no…then…that girl who…

…

…

…

'Well, that could be it. Not to mention she seems to know what my character and personality is all about anyway.' He reasoned as he scratched the back of his head. 'I can't think of anything else.' He stood up and stretched. 'Good thing the whole village didn't freak out over the Kyuubi's chakra being sensed or anything.'

He peered over to where the Hokage Tower was, trying to figure out his next move. "Probably for the best I go talk to her about Tou-san." He mumbled. He nodded to himself, making up his mind. He backed up a couple of steps before he sprinted full tilt to the edge of the Hokage monument, and swallow-dived off of his father's head, and plummeted below.

 **=X=X=**

"…And then they raced back home. Naruto won." She finished.

A raven haired woman who stood close by had her mouth half open while she looked between her master, and the supposed Suna Ambassador. She had no idea what to think but judging by the Godaime's face, then the Lady Sannin was about to blow a gasket. Another less-experienced person wouldn't be able to tell by the woman's stoic face, but when she was seemingly emotionless, she was dangerous.

"So. Against two jounin, and the Kazekage, and a taijutsu user, not to mention both exclusive Taijutsu users are practically speed-demons and Naruto won. A race."

Matsuri nodded confidently.

"And this Deidara fellow…had mouths in his hands."

Another nod.

"Do you take me for an **idiot**?!" Tsunade exploded in rage, bringing her fist down unto her table and smashing it into splinters, punctuating her last word. The now frightened teen pushed backwards in her seat while covering her eyes from the flying pieces of wood. Killing intent like tsunami crashed down upon her as the Hokage stood up, angled just right at the window to cast a large shadow over her.

"A mockery of my title at best! A spy and assassin at the worst!" The irate woman yelled.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune spoke up. "It doesn't seem made up. Nearly everyone on that mission seems eccentric enough to race among themselves, like Gai or Lee or Naruto! Even the Akatsuki has some unusual people in its ranks?!"

"Well," The Senju replied. "In that case…"

Matsuri looked relieved as the KI was released and the woman's aura seemed…less dreadful. Perhaps now she could-

"ANBU!"

Four ANBU ops flashed into the room, standing at four corners around the Hokage and the…victim, waiting on their orders. "Take her to Ibiki at the T and I!"

Shizune gawked. "Torture and Interrogations?! What for! The girl seems sincere!"

Tsunade nodded. " _Seems_. She has no need to worry if she has nothing to hide."

The ninja wearing their assorted masks approached the terrified girl from all sides briskly in a striding march. As they were about to grab her by her arms, the window behind Tsunade creaked open. All turned to see Naruto, complete in his Sage cloak climbing in through the window wearing his usual trademark grin. Finally stepping in, he put his arm behind his head and scratched it while Tsunade and Shizune turned to face him.

"Hey baa-chan, I'm back! I want to talk to you about…" He trailed off as he stared off behind the Hokage and saw the Anbu taking a hold of Matsuri by her shoulders and wrists. "…what the hell are they doing?!" He yelled angrily. Without warning, he started to form a rasengan in his right palm and it quickly grew from the size of an orange to a football.

His eyes suddenly snapped to an increasingly-familiar slitted red eyes and his whisker marks increased, as did the rasengan, which now nearly had the size of a beach ball. He held up the rasengan normally, and the perfectly controlled maelstrom glared a blue aura which lent the room a new color.

"Naruto!" Shizune exclaimed.

"Hey, Shizune-neechan." He growled out, through a half-snarl that revealed fangs for canines. "What are they doing to her?!"

"I don't answer to you, Naruto!" Tsunade yelled. "Now release the jutsu and calm yourself!"

Naruto said nothing, but he stared past the blonde and at the brunette who stared at him or more specifically, the mini blue-sun that sat in his palm. All was silent in the room, save for the whir of the Yondaime's technique as everyone remained perfectly still for the next minute. All remained as if in a stasis until Matsuri spoke up.

"It's…still getting bigger!"

Tsunade, Shizune and the four Anbu's eyes snapped to the rasengan. It was true; the more time that passed, the darned thing increased in size. The Anbu actually hesitated to go against Naruto. The fact remained that he was now a sage, not to mention that a normal sized rasengan killed people. What the hell would a rasengan that large do to them? Kill them before making actual contact?

Naruto held it out in the same fashion. Slowly, the rasengan seemed to break apart, as if like children separating from the mother. One rasengan slowly separated into two, each half it's beach ball size that then orbited around his wrist like a slow eternal dance. His palm was now empty.

"Two Anbu holding her wrists." He stated.

The anbu did not respond. But it was obvious to anyone that they were being threatened.

The two rasengans separated into four that still rotated around his wrist. "Two more Anbu holding her shoulders."

They all stared at his new found improved version of technique. The two women who were familiar with the original rasengan were baffled, as they knew of the control necessary to make a small rasengan, let alone four and manipulating them to this extent was nothing short of astounding.

Two of the rasengans from the wrist orbit moved up the arm a little and then their rotation reversed. Where the first two went clockwise, the next did the opposite. "Hokage-sama. Please order your Anbu to unhand her. Immediately."

The two glared at each other, neither giving in. Honey-colored orbs clashed with crimson ones. With a slight growl, a new rasengan came into being in his palm, but it took a reddish hue, before becoming violet. The others then followed suit, as the red shroud became reborn over his flesh and bubbled, taking the form of a tailless fox. Deep in his mind, the Fox chuckled demonically, but Naruto paid it no mind.

"One Hokage that orders them."

He stated as if it were a simple fact, and everyone suddenly became concerned. For their wellbeing that is. Perhaps Matsuri was exempt from this; she was watching the light show.

" **Rasengan Mace**." Naruto announced. His KI and bloodlust grew all of a sudden and suddenly all but Matsuri felt as if the Kyuubi had them in its maw.

"Um…" Shizune sweated as she fumbled with her speech. "Tsunade-sama?"

"…"

"Don't you think Naruto's being overprotective of her if he's going this far?"

" **She's my friend!"** Promptly, an apparition sprouted from his tailbone, taking the form of a vermilion chakra tail.

Tsunade had realized this in the very second Naruto created a rasengan but he was going too far if he was going to threaten her. _Her_. But for now, Naruto just might snap and kill the Anbu, all on a big maybe. And then the seal holding the Fox at bay could break, releasing it. Not to mention Tenzo, the one person with the necessary **Wood Release** to tame the biju influence was out of the village on mission. So was Jiraiya, the one who could use sealing techniques to achieve the same effect. That could mean the end of the village as the rampaging demon could and would run unopposed.

"She _did_ say that Naruto could vouch for her." Shizune continued, still trying to save the peace.

Tsunade sighed before she finally relented. "Fine. Anbu, release her."

The Anbu did so rather eagerly, and dressed back almost to the other side of the room from Naruto. Said Sage released his hold over his jutsu and the cloak dissipated. In the space of ten seconds, the near-crisis was averted and Naruto was completely normal.

"So, uh…Naruto?"

"Hai, Shizune-nee?"

"Do you know her?" Kato felt like she was asking a stupid question, but to hell with it. She felt like celebrating; just because she was in her home village should she take life for granted.

"Yeah." Naruto said gravely. "I do."

The Anbu looked to each other discretely and nodded together even more so. In a blur of speed they were at Naruto's side, each with a tanto or a kodashi at one of his vital points.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you're under arrest for threatening the Hokage."

"Hmph." Naruto closed his eyes and frowned. "Go ahead then. Kill me, if you must."

"…"

"Tsunade was quick to react, seeing her guards trying to fulfill their duties. At the back of her mind, she wondered if they were doing this to 'take the shame from their eye', to make up for their underperformance by finally challenging him when he was docile. But why was he daring them to kill him?

"Stand down! He's no longer a threat!"

Three of the Anbu immediately placed their blades back in their sheathes but the one to his right, just barely behind him poked him where his liver was, almost as if he was giving 'the last strike' to end the encounter. Perhaps even to tell Naruto that he wasn't going to get away scot-free. To threaten him to don't let this happen again.

Barely a half second later, the masked man was blown clean through the wall behind Naruto from an elbow, supplemented by senjutsu force. The man crashed through the wall with his back and fell outside before plummeting to the ground below the tower.

"What the hell?!"

Naruto opened toad-like eyes and stepped to the hole before shouting through it.

"I give the last hits around here, you bastard!"

He turned around to face the others and grinned. "Heh heh. Guess I don't know my own strength, huh?"

"…" Everyone only stared.

 **=X=X=**

The apologies from everyone to everyone were done, the anbu in the hospital with some broken ribs and shattered pride, the broken desk cleared…

And Tsunade was drinking.

"Oh! Sweet Kami, this kid! You've been nothing but problems ever since I met you, brat!"

Naruto sat in the couch alongside Matsuri. Shizune stood, as usual to one side while Tsunade was seated in a rather easy chair and balanced her saucer in her hand on the armrest. The Uzumaki merely squinted at his fellow blond by muttering the word 'likewise.'

"What was that?"

"I said 'you are wonderful company.'"

"Really?"

"Yep."

"You liar." She stated matter-of-factly. "I for one know that isn't true. Drink some saki! You've been dodging it ever since I took it out this bottle! I've been aging it real good."

"No thank you. Besides, I can't get drunk anyway. Who the hell would drink lukewarm rice alcohol for the taste?"

"Can't get drunk, huh?" The woman muttered. "One day I'll disprove that, you damn prude! Matsuri, have some saki!"

"I don't want any ma'am. I swore off the stuff indefinitely." Matsuri answered. She eyed the Hokage and decided that if she really was a lightweight, and the fact that she got **showered** nude while drunk didn't wake her up, she didn't even want to _smell_ the stuff.

"When was this?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Just now." 'I can't believe the fifth Hokage's a drunk. She's the strongest Kunoichi, for Kami's sake! Is this what alcohol does to people? To me?'

"Anyway, I came here to talk to you about Matsuri's accommodations." Naruto struck afresh. "About where she's going to stay while she's here as the Suna ambassador. Until Temari's back in office, that is."

"What about it, brat? She can just stay in a hotel. That's what Temari-san did, didn't she?"

"No, Hokage-sama." The Suna Kunoichi answered. "She stayed with a Shikamaru Nara, according to her brother. She also confirmed this."

"Ah. I see. You don't want to spend your pay on your work. But if Naruto was the one to bring this up…" Although fast becoming inebriated, the elder woman was quick to connect the dots. "You're suggesting she bunks with you, brat?"

Naruto mumbled something about 'brats' before he answered his adoptive grandmother. "Hai. That's what I'm suggesting. That's fine, isn't it?"

She rolled her eyes. "You just met the girl, now you want her to sleep with you?"

Shizune blushed a bit when she heard that but Tsunade was quick to cleanse the air that she implied it only as a joke. "Hah! A test for all dirty-minded people. Why Shizune, I am shocked!"

"Aiiee?! You…!" The raven haired woman sputtered a bit before going completely quiet.

"So she stays with you huh? In the dump you call an apartment?"

"It's clean! It's just in a state of disrepair. Its old and the walls are crumbling, roofs leaking, taps rusting…" Naruto began listing things on his fingers and started to drone.

Senju frowned. She had known about it and had planned to have his place renovated while he was gone. But somehow, she had forgotten. While she would have liked to blame it on paperwork and her schedule, deep down, she knew that she was the one at fault. "I get it. But if you know that's the case, why invite her to stay with you?"

Naruto became completely serious; his face appeared as if it were chiseled out of granite. Now. Now was the time to just come out and say it. The more frank and straight-forward, the better.

"She's staying with me in my new home. I've decided to claim my inheritance. I, the sole inheritor of my mother and father's wealth, including their Namikaze home. No longer am I just Naruto Uzumaki, the orphan. I'm now Naruto Uzu-Namikaze, son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze."

Tsunade's saucer fell out of her hand to the side and smashed to pieces on the ground. After that, people both in plain sight and the Anbu hidden in the rafters went into similar, very unique cases of surprise and shock.

Tsunade stared, Shizune slumped against the wall, two anbu gasped, one more nodded as if they suspected already, and Matsuri gawked at the young man next to her. Then to the Hokage monument outside, then back and forth. Again…and again…and again.

"To hell with this." Tsunade reached for the bottle and put it to her head, taking a long and deep swig. After she was done, there were hardly any dregs in the bottom.

"Well Mr. Uzu-Namikaze. Now that I'm sufficiently drunk, lets go sort out the paperwork. Kami help us."

"…" Naruto smiled grimly as he watched the Hokage and her assistant pull themselves together to fill out some paperwork that would surely, well and surely shake the Leaf's foundations. Then after that, everyone would know that the Yellow Flash had a kid… named Naruto Uzu-Namikaze.

 **I apologize for the late (and small) chapter.**

 **I feel as if the whole 'damsel in distress' scenario might be overused in this fic so in order to stray from that, I made her fascinated with his prowess (rasengan) rather than the fact he popped up when… she was in distress. Also, later on in the fic I'll explain why Naruto seems to be walking a razor's edge with the Kyuubi.**

 **There was nothing more to add to this chapter and besides, Naruto and Matsuri are going to walk through the village next time. 'Nuff said. I also hope that the characters today weren't OOC, or overly so. Anyway, don't forget to review. But who am I kidding. You'll just read this, then move on to another fic. Then another. Then another, before forgetting what this one was called. It would be nice if you proved me wrong, though.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **I'm going to be honest with you.**

 **Given how enthusiastic I was to type AATC: T, I did it first. Bad news is, it's thrown my schedule out of whack and in an effort to correct it, I typed this chapter in the same week. Even worse, I have to find a way to put in a 5k chapter and a 10k chapter within ten days. I believe in miracles.**

 **What I'm saying is that you can find the next chapter for LWARD in three weeks.**

 **Disclaimer: Meh, whatever. I don't own Naruto. But I own what I own, if that says anything.**

 **9.**

"So, Mr. Uzu-Namikaze, what are you gonna do now?"

"Aw, you know that you'll still be baa-chan, no matter how big I get." Naruto replied in jest.

Apparently, Tsunade found it to be in poor taste and tried to tell him physically instead of verbally. As he narrowly escaped her clutches through the door with Matsuri in tow, she decided to tell him in vocals after all.

"Naruto! When I find you, I'm going to-"

Her voice carried on after them down the stairs, and all the way to the front entrance, and the things the irate woman described made the Sand Kunoichi widen her eyes. "Is that even possible?"

Naruto looked up to his forehead in thought, while cocking his head to one side. "I don't think so, but I'm not going to risk it, be it whatever mode or state I get into and or use."

For a second, she thought he looked vaguely intellectual, but the moment soon passed and he seemed boyish again. "Modes and states? Don't you just have Sage mode?" She queried, baiting him to see if she could learn something else about him.

"Err…no. I have Sage mode." He briefly retreated to his thoughts and soon came to the conclusion that she already knew about the Kyuubi, so it was safe to tell her about what she just saw. As long as she didn't find it…putting off. That was describing it mildly.

"Remember the…uhh…state that I was in back in the office?"

"The rasengan thing?"

"No. Not the jutsu. Although it was _awesome_ , wasn't it?"

"Hai. It was. Come to think of it, why'd you go that far for me?" She asked. Ramifications of what could have happened suddenly assaulted her mentally and nearly made her dizzy just thinking about it. "Oh boy, oh Kami, I'm alive. I was going to be tortured for telling the truth, you threatened the Hokage, you threatened a leader of a ninja village and we're alive. Oh-"

She got a light slap on the cheek with a backhand. "Quit doing that."

She glared at him before she rubbed the offended cheek. "Doing what?! You're the crazy one!"

"Who said anything about crazy? You're the one who said it."

That was true. But why was he so…casual with what just happened? She supposed an exception could be applied to her; she was busy staring at very powerful jutsus and the fact that it blew over so easily. 'Was this what Kakashi-san meant when he said that his student was close with the Hokage? To the point of calling her grandma? Are they related? They are blondes, after all. But Naruto claimed to be an orphan. I might know Naruto's character to some extent but that's just the surface. I really don't know anything about him.'

"Hello, Matsuri? Something on my face? Why are you staring at me?"

She quickly caught on. "Sorry. Didn't mean to." She averted her gaze downwards as they continued walking.

'What's she thinking about?' "Ah, I get it. You're worshipping my epic-ness. It was only a matter of time."

Her breath caught in her throat on an inhale. "Worshipping _your epic-ness_?"

"Oh yeah!"

Barely a second later, he found himself pushed into a light pole just as they were about to pass it. "OW! By 'ose!" He cried out in a nasally-sounding voice. "What da 'eck?!"

"Not so epic, after all." She answered smugly.

After soothing his injured nose and his pride, he spoke again. "You should thank Kami that I don't hit girls in reprisal. Cause if I didn't, there probably wouldn't have been anything left of you but your sandals if I did."

"Is that a _threat_?"

"It's not a threat; you can chisel that in granite, cause it would've happened. Geez, I thought you would have thanked me something. Not send me hurdling into some concrete inert object." He said in a hurt tone.

She sighed. "You're right. Thank you for doing something incredibly reckless to save my skin."

Hs mind wandered as she mentioned the last. "Skin?" He echoed with a blush.

She noticed his reaction and she quickly put two and two, believing that he was recalling the events of last night. 'Hmm.' "You ~like my skin~?"

His blush deepened a bit. But that's all she needed.

"You damn pervert!"

"For Kami's sake! I blame you for your choice of words, and for trying to sound sensual!" He retorted, trying to sound angry but it came out hollow. He backpedaled away in nervousness. "I'm not at fault!"

The sound of cracking knuckles actually made the dust shift away farther from her in a small ripple.

Naruto decided to get the hell out of dodge…while he still had feeling below neck.

He took to the rooftops and began darting away with her hot at his heels. As he did, he could see that the sun was beginning to set and he instinctively began heading for his home in the Red Light District.

( **AN: To be frank, I don't know anything about such a district. It could have been started by a FF writer, for all I know. But for now, I'll use the idea.)**

"Get back here and take it like a man!"

"I'm running because I want to **remain** a man!" He yelled back behind him.

" **Men** don't run!" She yelled in righteous anger.

Coming up to the end of the roof, he growled in frustration before he leapt off in a jump tumble, front flipped in the air and landed on the ground below on his toes. And there he waited for her to follow. She soon did, but some part of her felt off, seeing him about to relinquish himself to her mercies. She could have questioned it, but the 'womanly' side to her told her that she needed to dole out some justice.

"You gonna do it or what?" He shouted.

He was asking to get beaten up? Well, fine.

She stalked over to him and as soon as she was about to throw her first punch, he caught it effortlessly before he started ranting.

"Is this how girls and women get their kicks?! Their sense of superiority? By beating up on males? That's utter bullshit."

"That's because you deserve it!" She pulled her arm away and tried to kick him in the crotch but he turned slightly sideways and blocked it with his knee. It hurt her foot but she wasn't going to admit it. "Guys are such perves!"

"Oh, for the love of- As far as I can see, there's nothing that pleases females enough. They dress up, put on fancy clothes, dab on makeup and then they ask you if they look good, or they strut in front of you. If you respond like a pervert, they get offended, if you don't respond, they'll think you're gay and that their efforts went to waste!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I spent nearly three years of my life learning from the tutelage of a self-proclaimed king of perverts. I think I _know_ what I'm talking about!" He yelled back. "You just want to beat me up, after you set me up by trying to sound like some kind of loose girl! Are you one? Huh? Cause I don't think I would live with one, you know!" He caught another one of her punches that would have given him a (five minute) black eye and held fast, all the while clenching his own hand over it. His emotion was one of a complete lack of it as he heard her joints start to creak under the pressure.

"Oww! Let go, damn it!"

He let go and sat himself on a roadside bench, glaring all the while. She started letting loose on him, but he never moved. It was as if beating up on a marble statue with flesh. Of course bruises and such appeared, but he never moved; even if a full on punch to the face caught him dead on, his head never moved a centimeter with it. He was stock still. His eyes were open and she could see that he did not have Sage mode on. She continued for another ten or so minutes before she grew tired and bored and plopped herself down on the bench beside him.

"Can't believe that I tried to make friends with someone like you. Hell, made such a fuss about threatening the Hokage and her personal guard when she was gonna have you hauled off to be interrogated and tortured." The blond muttered.

"Well…fine! No one asked for your help! I'll live!" She yelled. On two levels, she suddenly realized that there was a crowd around them and the fact the she honestly regretted acting up. He was a guy, after all. And she had inveigled any perverted-ness he had by teasing him needlessly.

As she stared at him, she noted how all of the 'injuries' that he sustained when she had tried to beat him up gradually disappear right before her eyes. She realized that it was the Kyuubi's doing and realized that it was the reason he took the 'beating' so easily.

"When you caught up to me in the woods, your backpack and your storage sealing scroll fell off."

Her eyes widened in realization. If that's true, then what was she supposed to-

He rolled up his sleeve where she noticed a set of six seals tattooed on him arm. He quickly unsealed something from one of them and when the smoke cleared, she was boggled to see her very issue right there in his hand. He quickly slung it over to her, which she caught.

"I hope you find somewhere to sleep tonight."

"What?...What…but…the…huh?"

He got up and started walking away. Before she could even get up, he shunshinned away in a puff of smoke.

 **=X=X=**

He shut his apartment door behind him and sighed. He wondered if he had taken it too far by leaving her alone. He quickly backboned himself. "Hah. She'll live. To think, I was gonna leave my hovel behind and claim my inheritance just to make her comfortable. Now I take on my pop's name to put myself in trouble and she doesn't even realize."

He kicked off his sandals and sat on his bed in a lotus style to meditate. Perfect peace eluded him for a while, but it finally came like a wash, or even more so like a tidal wave, carrying him off to sweet oblivion.

 **=X=X=**

She was still on the bench.

The crowd that had formed around them trickled away, leaving her alone. Deciding to make the most of her situation, she got up and put on her knapsack and scroll in a single fluid moment before walking silently to find a hotel or inn to spend the night in.

Within five minutes, she realized that all she was getting was glares, short and hot responses, or just being ignored. She called to mind that the civilians were still pissed at Suna for the events of the Konoha Crush during which Suna and Oto tried to raze the village and so decided to ask a ninja; hopefully one more sympathetic to her situation.

The ninja had brown hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose but anything extending beyond that was nondescript. She soon got the directions for a hotel but she had to decline when she heard the price. She could have written up a form that they offered that would let her 'pay when she got paid', but she decided to forgo it and find a cheap inn. She soon exhausted all she could find in the area but was turned away when told they were full and had no room.

 **Night had come on by** this time and the village came alive with lights of establishments. Matsuri trudged through the village, barely making her way around the crowding folk that had all the signs of merriment. Her feet ached, her chakra was still low from her earlier exhaustion and above all, her gut cried out for something to eat. She hadn't eaten anything but some dango that morning and from all of her strenuous efforts, her stomach might've been developing ulcers by now from digesting its own lining.

'Well, time to suck up my pride and apologize.' The thought came and lingered, just before she muttered a 'no' to herself. She would not submit! It wasn't as if she was wrong, was she? She didn't think so; if a guy was perverted, he should get his face smashed in. Shouldn't he?

Fantastic. Now she was doubting herself.

She kept on walking without any real direction. She knew that if she stopped, there would be an excellent chance of her just screaming like a lunatic apologizing in a incoherent babble and she wasn't about to let herself do that. It would be an insult to all Gaara had taught her. Come to think of it, Gaara was never perverted. So all those efforts to 'impress a certain guy' as Naruto put it had indeed gone to waste. Did that make her feel unhappy from going unnoticed 'in _that_ way'? Did she _want_ Gaara to act even slightly perverted over her?

The smell of food broke her thoughts suddenly, and assaulted her famished senses like a mugger. Glancing to her left, she saw a rather homely looking stand that by all means served ramen, if the smell was any indication. Hoping that she could purchase a bowl and still find a cheap inn with a place for her to lay her head, she decided to accept the venture.

She eagerly strode over to it and pulled aside one of the privacy flaps before taking a seat on a stool. Glancing to her sides, she saw there was only one other patron almost clear to the other side who was eating his food while reading a pamphlet. She considered trying to start a conversation with the ninja but decided better of it; food came first.

"Can I get some service, please?!" She called.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" A voice answered in the back; female, if the sound was any indication.

Sure enough, in another minute the owner of the voice came into view wearing a fairly standard waitress uniform. The woman herself was quite beautiful in her own simple way, and Matsuri thought that she looked out of place in such an establishment like this. A secretary, maybe?

"Hello! What will you have?" The waitress asked a bit exuberantly.

"Hello. I'd like a bowl of your most purchased ramen, please." She figured that their most popular serving had to be the one that tasted the best. It was simple logic.

"Most purchased?" The ninja in the corner echoed. "I guess that depends." He looked over to Matsuri. "Oh! It's you again. Did you get through?"

She looked over to him as well. "Get through? Wadd'ya mean-" She then realized that it was the same ninja from before who had the scar on his nose. He must have been speaking about her finding the hotel. "No, I didn't."

"Too expensive, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Find any inns?"

"Full."

"Shame."

Ayame reached over the counter and tapped Matsuri's shoulder. "So you want the Miso? Or do you want the 'Porkaholics' ramen?"

"'Porkaholics'?"

"Oh sure. For common laborers who go on and on about meat, and ninja who want to eat some soup that has a bit too much pork for my taste. A lot of people come asking for that." The Konoha ninja explained. "Say, uh, what's your name? Mine's Iruka."

"Matsuri." She obliged. "But if that's the most purchased flavor, then why the choice of Miso?"

Iruka chuckled. "That ramen _is_ most ordered. Miso, that is. One person alone, out-purchases the alternative, even though it's the most purchased by popular demand."

Now it was the waitress's turn to laugh. "Naruto really puts it away, huh Iruka?"

"He does indeed. Pity on all those times I treated him."

Matsuri's world took a dramatic pause as she heard the name before time resumed its normal progression. "Naruto, huh? I know of him."

"Everyone's heard of him. Brash, knuckleheaded, prankster…" Iruka started listing.

"C'mon, you're not giving him enough credit. What about how he's got a heart of gold, those kinds of things. You know, overly kind, too forgiving, self sacrifice…"

Suna's Ambassador heard her stomach growl and decided to just take the Miso. She told Ayame, who immediately retreated to the back, mumbling something about ten minutes. In the meantime, her thoughts once again turned to the blond. "Too forgiving, huh?" She muttered.

Iruka must have heard her. "Oh yeah. That's him. I can't say too much, but his best friend tried to kill him and he looked past that. Something like that happened to me, I probably would have taken on myself to be my best friend's judge, jury and executioner."

The stand grew quiet for a minute and Matsuri felt a need to fill it. "You know, I was supposed to bunk with him. But we had something of a fight."

"You did? That's a shame. I'm just going to theorize that he offered you a place to say, you said some things or did some things he didn't like, and you're too proud to admit your mistake or mistakes to apologize to him, knowing that he'll just forgive you."

"More or less like that." She admitted. "But I told him that I could make it without him."

"Hmm. Ramen _is_ pretty poor fare." Iruka noted. "I just eat it every now and again for sentiments sake. AND you still haven't found a place to sleep. I think you're doing a great job so far."

"I will not submit!"

"Ok, not too sure what that's all about." Iruka answered with a sweat-drop. "But its not a bad thing to admit that you're wrong. If you **are** the wrong one."

She quickly told him what they fought about and Umino decided to explain a bit of his own.

"He trained with Jiraiya the Toad Sage. While they were still here in the village, the two of them constantly fought about the Sennin's habits of peeking on women in the hot-springs, private baths, assorted bathhouses, under waterfalls, stuff like that. I mean, I respect the man and all for his might, but after what Naruto told me, I lost any respect for anything else of the man's character."

"The Toad Sage is a lecher?!" Matsuri couldn't believe her ears. First the Hokage was a drunk, and the second was a massive pervert, what's next? The third one had a thing for small boys?

"Yeah, pretty much. After a couple days, Jiraiya told Naruto, or so he says to me, that he'll become a pervert like him too, eventually. Hormones and all that. Naruto didn't understand too much about puberty at the time and Naruto swore to never become a perve like him. Says he'll respect women, and all that. Me as a guy know that it's impossible. A guy has to be even slightly perverted. It's the law of life."

"Guess that's why he was so upset with me, or about what happened in Suna." Matsuri mumbled. "It did feel…good being noticed. But not when someone's eyeing me like a piece of meat!"

"That's true, and I accept that. But I'm talking about the perverseness that's responsible for libido for married couples and things like when a couple is becoming intimate. If there isn't perversion, albeit in a small scale, the world would be far less crowded. Understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. I understand."

Ayame came back with a bowl of ramen a minute later to find only Iruka sitting by himself. "Where's the girl?"

Iruka looked up. "Oh, she said something about apologizing to someone. Pertaining to the soup, I'll take it off your hands."

Ayame grinned. "Are you turning into a Naruto?"

"I sure hope not."

 **You know, this chapter was to be about another topic, but I decided that some perversion would be necessary for the story. And since I can't be bothered with writing about Matsuri trying to leave a dent in Naruto's skull every other chapter, I decided to make Matsuri more accepting of it. He's a guy; get over it girl!**

 **Besides, overnight, some news should be spread about someone's status. ;D**

 **Someone, please pray for schedule to fix itself. And don't mutter some kind of magic spell like 'flesruoy xif eludehcs' Cause reversing the words and order doesn't really work. I tried already. :(**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **Do you guys know Breaking Limits? The one with a 10k quota chapter? At risk of having to post that and this by their weekly requirements next week, I took some time to post this chapter instead this week. This means that the schedule was repaired. (Meh, 50/50, that is.)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. What else is new? Err, I'm currently using Calibri for my typing font instead of Times New Roman. Does anyone know how to change the default without me doing it constantly? Tell me please.**

 **10.**

This was…something she never foresaw doing at this time. Well, she never tried to predict it, but that wasn't the issue.

She was burnt out.

She expected to be fed, maybe listening to the radio, or reading a book. At the very least, in bed.

Instead, she was sore all over from her earlier exhaustion, tired, hungry, and above all, desperate enough to make a terrible mistake. All in all, to correct an even worse one.

'I must be out of my mind.' She reasoned. 'But why am I happy about it?'

She was at the center of the village, and sitting on a bench that was located on the outside of the entrance to what seemed to be a playground area for the civilian-looking school. She reasoned here to be an alright location for what she had intended, for this the same location that Naruto had earlier sat, and they had what one could mildly call a disagreement. She mentally brought together all of her energies and prayed.

"Kami, please let this work so I can find him and apologize." She whispered to herself. "But if that's too much to ask for, at least let me live after I try this. Don't want to die of chakra exhaustion."

She felt her inbred talent give off a pulse, albeit a weak one. For a minute, she 'saw' everything in black, white, and blue. Each person had their own unique chakra-coil formation, and level capacity. In that minute of information, she sifted through it, searching for the awing presence of a Jinchuriki. She knew what Naruto's was like, so she wasn't at a lack of how to differentiate him from all others.

She felt the civilians, she felt the ninja, and she basically felt everything. Until she met upon a bright blue haze all by itself, with the same aura of which Naruto himself had. There was a large amount of some kind of multicolored chakra within that haze, but she ignored it. From all accounts, that was completely weird and new to her.

And so was Naruto.

Matsuri heaved herself up from the bench, and repressed the urge and need to collapse back into it. She was now extremely weary, and her pack was not making things any easier. Her inky irises became hidden by her eyelids as they drooped; exhaustion was taking its toll on her, and she using her sensory abilities usually left her sluggish when she was at her peak ability. Now, she worried that she was nearer dead than alive.

She started to lean backwards as she swayed. But instead of giving in, she leaned forward as her eyes opened, and put her right foot forward. Then another, then another, then another.

He didn't live too far from here, but at her current speed, condition and all other factors, he might as well have lived in Iron Country. But she had to try regardless.

 **=X=X=**

Another time.

Another instance.

Another battle.

Another victory.

" **It's pointless. One day, you'll fail."**

"I might as well keep postponing it then. Besides, living is death postponed."

" **I hate to agree with you, you pathetic flesh sack of meat and bones, but you are correct."**

"I was thinking…"

" **Piss off."**

Naruto sighed as he eyed the seal holding back the Kyuubi in its cage. "It's not that I don't like you. I'm pretty neutral right now, you know."

" **I don't care."** The Fox growled as it sat on its haunches and glared with its slitted, bloodshot eyes.

"And you're essentially concentrated hate, correct?"

"…"

"Silence means that you don't object." The UzuNamikaze figured. The teen then stroked his chin as he backed away a little from the cage. "So since you're hate, it means that you're hated by everything, you hate everything, and all that crap. Does that also include that you hate all of that about hate too?"

"… **Don't be a smartass."**

"I have to meditate to keep my emotions in check. I meditate to be neutral. I meditate to stay in control."

" **You** _ **think**_ **you have control. Control is an illusion."**

"I know. But pertaining to what happened recently. How the hell did _you_ get that control over me?" Naruto frowned. **"** With my controlled emotions, it should be nigh impossible for me to get a rise to be influenced by you. I don't love, I don't hate. As per my requirements to have the title of being a Sage; impartial to an emotion unlike my own teacher. I have sacrificed hating the village, to cease my infatuation with Sakura. _What happened?_ "

" **If it were only two emotions…"** The monstrous Kitsune trailed off. It decided the better of it and decided to let things play out. He would be better off that way. In just one day, Naruto had lost an incredible amount of _control_. How he _despised_ that word. The Senju with Wood Release had him under _control_. The Uchiha had him under _control_. The father of the brat in front of him had him under _control_. It was full time he retook the offensive. And that, would be accomplished by remaining passive.

And let this…shit-pile in front of him think he had control.

" **Perhaps it was an isolated incident."** The Kyuubi lied smoothly. With a sudden show of effort, it made a fist and struck the cage just behind the sealed area, and it failed to even budge. **"It's still solid." 'For now, anyway.'**

"Maybe we can still be acquaintances? We can't be friends due to the Sage requirements, but nothing said I can't just say 'hey' from time to time, huh?" Naruto said with a long and lengthy sigh.

" **Never,"** came the dry and simple reply.

With a small wave of resignation, Naruto left the mindscape, and the Kyuubi by himself in his jail.

 **Naruto came to, and found** his entire world black. His eyes rolled around under his eyelids before they fluttered open, and he found himself in his apartment on his bed. Bouncing on the springs a bit, he leaned off the side from his lotus-style position and stood up next to the bed.

"Ah well. I guess that's just how it goes." He remarked to himself with a groan. He had yet to change his clothes, get some food in his belly, and run a bath.

'What's first? I suppose get a bath, then I'll change into some better clothes, and during all of that, some water will have boiled for…' He groaned at this. "Ugh. Not tonight. I'm not going Spartan with my food. I'll just unseal something."

He went to the bathroom, and flinched. The bathroom was a mess. How could he have forgotten that? He questioned himself. He opened a window to the outside, and found himself staring at a brick wall.

'What the hell? They put up a building just like that? Just one foot away from my window?' Shaking it off, he plugged up the tub and turned the tap. The rusty knob in his hands could barely give, and when it did at last, a deluge of brown water (rusty) came from the pipe, but soon ceased. Now, he had a quarter-way full tub of rather questionable water, a damnable bathroom and still no shower.

"To hell with this. I'll just use a water jutsu."

He pulled the plug and watched the water swirl away in the tub. However, that soon came to a halt as the water over the drain bubbled, then stopped allowing the water to pass away.

'Kami-damnit! This tub is utter shit!' He cursed to himself. He momentarily allowed his emotions to ebb away, and glanced at the toilet. Deciding to not chance to flush that to see what would happen, he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Things must have gotten really worse in the time I left." He muttered. "But that bad? What am I going to do?"

Hardly was the question asked properly to himself was when he heard what sounded like a dragging noise outside the room. It was in a pattern; that much was sure. But it sounded faint, and seemed to get louder and louder as it became clear that it was inching to his door.

"Hmm?" He released a kunai from its secret catch inside his right sleeve, and it fell into his open palm in a reverse grip. "What the hell is that…?"

He listened very carefully, and soon, the noise stopped right behind the door. Tensing himself for likely combat, he held up the kunai in his right hand, and a half-ram handseal in the left.

*Knock*…*knock*…*knock*…

He raised an eyebrow. If this was indeed an attack, it was a horrible attempt if they were actually warning him. If it was a surprise, or a prank, it was in poor taste. He didn't answer.

"Naruto…I know you're in there." The person outside said lowly.

His eyes widened, before he frowned. "What do you want, Matsuri?" He abandoned his stance, but did no more than that, except to place the kunai back in its place.

"I…wanna say I'm sorry."

The Uzumaki felt the need to laugh. "Sorry for what? For trying, but miserably failing to beat the crap outta me?"

He heard her chuckle, before she stopped. "Sorry for that too. I was just here to say sorry for making you out to be some kind of a perve. Its fine for guys to be a little pervy, I guess."

The blond shook his head, before he sat at the door, and leaned back against it. Little did he know, was that she was doing the exact same thing on the other side with her pack beside her. "So?"

"…"

"…"

Naruto was about to say his one-worded question again when she finally answered. "I'm not looking for favors. I don't deserve it. You've been taking care of me when we didn't even know one another, and I tried to get physical with you every other hour."

"Your point is?"

"I'm asking you to call a hospital. I essentially crawled here on my hands and knees after suffering chakra exhaustion, and I think I've got some ulcers in my gut." She said the last with a weak chuckle.

"Uh huh." He thought a moment, trying to figure out something. "How'd you find me?"

"I, uh…sensed for you."

He face-palmed himself. He made a mental note to do up some seals that could block sensory ability. "Of course. At least it wasn't in an attempt to knock my block off, or something."

He heard her sigh. "…Yeah."

"Yeah."

They were like that for five more minutes.

"Did you call for a nurse, or medic Nin or something? My body hurts…"

He groaned before getting up and opened the door. As he did and opened it towards him, she fell forward inside as well with an 'oomph' of pain.

"Now you're forgiven." Naruto remarked with a smile.

"…Just help me up."

He yanked her up by an uplifted arm, and made her stand upright. "There you go."

And she fell forward and head-butted him with her forehead on his nose.

"Yipe! What the-"

"My body's just about given up. Carry me please?"

He groaned. "Where?"

"Sofa's fine."

He obliged her, and hefted her weight beside him with her arm over and around the back of his neck. He made her to lie down on it, and she sighed. "Yeah. Lumpy. Better than the ground, I guess."

He eyed her form, and noticed that in addition to breathing heavily, her knees were practically mauled and she appeared as if she had just run a marathon. Several of them, in fact. Back to back.

"You were already exhausted, and you knew that your sensory takes the wind out of your sails, and you did it anyway just to find me and apologize?" He said in marvel.

"Yeah. Thank Kami I'm alive."

"Girl!" He fist-bumped her shoulder. "That was admirable."

"I also couldn't find a place to stay." She said flatly.

He sweat-dropped heavily. "Oh. But was it your-"

"Actually, I had had my doubts, but some ninja named Iruka talked to me. I just had to apologize."

"You met Iruka? He's like a big brother of mine."

"That so?" She lifted an eyebrow with her response. Her eyes flickered around the room. "Wow. Your sensei and the Hokage were right. You **do** live in a dump."

"It's what was afforded to me."

"If your dad was who you say he was, couldn't they give you somewhere better to live?"

Naruto's mind backtracked to his earlier mishap with the Kyuubi's influence. How the Sandaime must have known. If he knew that he had the Kyuubi sealed in him from day one, his status of being the Yondaime's son was also known to him. All of a sudden, his relationship with the deceased old man seemed…fake, for lack of a better word.

"They should have." Naruto growled. He checked himself for his anger, and felt it recede. "But with the way things are right now, we're leaving."

"Huh? Leaving?"

"Yeah." Came his curt reply. He furled his cloak closer to him and tired to alleviate the mood in a posh voice for a joke. "Get your coat, dear, we're leaving."

In hindsight, he supposed it wasn't the best thing he could have said. But damn-it-all if it didn't make him and her blush a little.

"Still can't really move."

He sighed and quickly created a shadow clone, which he ordered to get her pack. "I'll carry you. Besides, you don't know the way, anyway."

"Aw, you're such a gentleman. Are you sure this isn't an effort to cop a feel?" She teased.

"Don't push your luck."

 **=X=X=**

He adjusted her weight behind him, while her arms were latched around his shoulders and neck. She was in a piggy back, and his shadow clone was basically carrying her stuff in the same fashion.

"Ready?"

She gripped a bit tighter. "Ready." She reaffirmed with a nod. Without further ado, the kage bunshin slammed the door with finality, and they both left the apartment building. All three watched the small blood streaks on the ground, indicating where and how she crawled.

"You're really tenacious." Her carrier remarked.

"Arigatou. I don't give up." She replied proudly. She took that moment to appreciate the feel of the gauze on her freshly-cleaned knees and hoped that she could just let herself fall in a bed soon.

With a laugh, he nodded. They leapt up to the rooftops, and made for the eastern end of the village, where the compound area was located. They soon had to abandon the roofs, but didn't matter, as the streets in this area weren't as populated. Matsuri looked up and admired the night sky; it was full of stars, and the moon lent the land an otherworldly glow. She smiled and thanked Kami for the graces so far, and counted herself lucky for ever finding a guy like Naruto. Her grip didn't falter in the least, and his muscle definition was plain to her. 'Wow.'

In the meantime, his face was fully crimson, but she couldn't see it from being behind him. Her breasts were pressing into his back, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling. He tried to focus on what he was doing, and was moderately successful as he recalled Jiraiya's directions to him from so long ago. He mentally hoped that they were accurate.

'Behind the Hyuuga compound, huh?'

Right now, they were running along the front wall of the compound. It was a massive one, but from his teacher's opinions, The Namikaze property was just as large, if not just a wee bit smaller. Finally coming to the end of the wall, he had to strafe right to avoid someone in his way.

"What the? Coming through, lady!"

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata?" He didn't let up in his speed, but later, he would swear vehemently that time slowed down as everyone was observing everyone. Hinata stared at Naruto, his clone, Matsuri on his back and the fact that the clone had a backpack of traveling things and such. Naruto saw Hinata's face flash from surprise to something unfamiliar, and Matsuri saw that the girl her carrier had called out to get the shock of her life seeing her on the teen's back.

And then the moment fled.

"We can talk tomorrow, Hinata!" He turned the corner and continued running at full speed.

Soon, he finished that length as well, but nothing else lay beyond that. It looked like a massive, empty field.

"Where is it?" The clone asked as they came to a stop.

"This is the location?" The Suna Kunoichi asked in surprise. "I don't see anything."

"Hold up. Lemme try something." Naruto took the time to activate his Sage mode, and in an effort to filter the chakra felt a definite 'If' in the location. "Yep. It's there, but not there at the same time. Ah, the power of Fuinjutsu."

"I'm at a loss, Naruto. What do we do?"

"Shed blood." He said matter-of-factly. "It's like I'll have to summon it, but much more complicated. I only know the answer to the problem, but not the formula to get the answer. Get it?" He released his mode to become vulnerable.

"Sorta." She admitted. "What'll you do?"

He walked over to what looked like an ordinary waist-high wooden post close to the front of the open land. Looking both ways to ensure no one else was watching, he dragged his hand across the top of the rough post that had nails sticking up.

"Why'd you do that?!" She exclaimed. "You could get tetanus!"

"Jinchuriki." The clone drawled. "Kami, I thought you were already brought up to speed on this."

"Indeed." Naruto agreed. He allowed Matsuri to 'disembark' and she had to lean on the rather sturdy clone. He then went through a number of handseals in a blur, before slamming his cut hand on the post again.

"Summoning Technique: Ethereal Residence!"

The kanji from the jutsu crept all over from the palm of his hand and the post and into the whole area of the land. The minute characters then glowed bright colors of blue, yellow and white, making the landscape look like something from a fantasy. The glow became exponential, and became like flood lights that shone into all directions, more like a multicolored sun if nothing else. The trio had to shield their eyes.

When the light dimmed from between the cracks of their hands, they beheld a most magnificent looking home.

And that was putting it mildly.

"Well, Naruto." Matsuri spoke up after a long while. "Home sweet home, huh?"

He could only nod dumbly.

 **Well, sorry for putting you through that crap everyone. I just had the time today, so I did it. Rushed? Err, kinda.**

 **Details: I can't be bothered with details of the village layout, or how he found or got his house. It feels original to me, and I hope this is the first time you guys are reading something of that description. I hope this chapter also explained why Naruto's meditating so much. I guess the summary for the story also tops that too, huh?**

 **Note: I can't be bothered to go back and address this in chapter four. Those instances when I said 'T-Rated Censoring'? Yeah? That was for humor, alright? Sorry if it's in poor taste. Sometimes, I just go out on a limb with humor, and hope I pull it off. Okay? Thanks if you laughed, sorry if you groaned.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review on what you thought.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **I'm using Calibri again, and I think I'm getting used to it. I've already used it on this fic, B.L., L.T., and four Ultimatums. But still tell me if you know how to change the default.**

 **Also, I hope you like the new cover. I drew some pictures and symbols (and edited them on my phone) this week to affix them to all of my stories. If you don't like 'em, complain about it, then draw something better for me to use. Besides that, don't forget to review.**

 **Early update… I'm on a role this week.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, it would be so horrible that no one would want to make Fanfiction of it. *Slaps forehead* Who am I kidding, I'd try my best, but I can't sketch the characters and all that junk for years. I'd lose what little sanity I have left. Maybe Kishimoto lost his.**

 **11.**

"Wow."

"I know."

"Wow."

"I know."

"Wow."

"Matsuri, quit it. You've been saying that for five minutes, right into my ear."

"Naruto, you quit saying 'I know'. You've been saying that for as long as I have been saying 'wow'."

She was on his back again as they finally came to the 'front door' of the magnificent residential building. It wasn't jewel encrusted or anything of the sort of riches, but one could definitely agree with another on the point of it being very stately in design. In design for comfort, size, statues for decorations, hanging gardens, as well as ground-grown gardens filled with sweet fragranced flowers like jasmine that bloomed in the nighttime at its apex of development. The whole property judging from the size of the open land that previously occupied the space was expansive, and every area must have served a purpose.

Naruto had learned from Jiraiya that the Namikaze were primarily merchants than ninja. While they were a large family, only half of them actually became ninjas in profession. Merchants invested what they earned, ninjas killed and invested what they earned, and soon, they were as influential as the Senju in status. It was truly a pity that they had passed away from a ghastly illness that left only his father alive at the age of six. The man inherited all, and now it was he. Who could he himself leave this to, should he bite the dust?

"Naruto? Aren't you going to open the door?" Matsuri asked. Her carrier seemed to have been lost in thought for a few minutes, as he seemingly stared past the door. Was he that overwhelmed?

"Hmm?" He came back to reality and shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine. Kage bunshin, open the door."

"Sure boss." The clone that carried her pack took hold of the elegantly gilded doorknob and opened the door. They wasted no time getting inside, and there, they realized that the inside was practically as large as it indicated on the outside. "Don't forget to take off your sandals boss." The clone reminded. It placed the pack by the door before dispersing.

"Huh. My clone gives good advice." Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"Well…yeah!" Matsuri agreed. "He is you, remember? And you give good advice too, you know. Like when I was packing up in Suna."

"Oh?...Sure." Naruto didn't think of himself like that, but he felt good to be esteemed for what he didn't necessarily think was substantial in the first place. "Thanks." 'It _does_ feel good to be appreciated.'

"No problem."

As he kicked off his sandals, he realized that he was in the living room. There were the usual things one would find in such a room, like a centerpiece table, a couple of armchairs, a sofa and the like. He went over to an armchair, turned and let Matsuri fall into it.

"Phew! This is comfy enough to sleep in!" She exclaimed. She pretended to draw a snore while Naruto knelt down in front of her and took hold of her ankles. "What are you doing?"

"Sandals." He replied, as he tugged at one from the small grip at the back.

"Oh, what a gentleman!" She remarked coyly. "You gonna sweep me off my feet, too?"

He gave no immediate response as he took them off and placed them by the doorway, then shut the door itself. "You wish."

"I don't have to wish. You already are." She continued in all seriousness.

"Whazzat?" He asked in a dumbfounded tone.

"Oh, of course you are. You've been nothing but one since I met you. Guys in Suna are really chauvinistic. It's hard for Kunoichi there to really advance. That's why so many of us look up to Temari-sama. She's like a measuring post, so to speak."

"That's so? I don't know of any guys in the Leaf who would think so, since the Hokage's a woman. But if I could think of a person who would have that mentality is my old teammate."

"Sakura?" She asked in surprise.

"No. Sasuke. Heard him going on about that one time. It's probably because he grew up around fan-girls." The UzuNamikaze walked to an armchair next to hers and sat in it. "In any case, we did hard traveling today, we haven't really had a bath, or eaten anything-"

The brunette suddenly remembered that she didn't have any of the ramen at the stand. She'd regret it tomorrow, she supposed. "You taking me out to eat? Bathing me? I'm still fairly handicapped, in case you haven't noticed."

'Take her out to eat? What she mean? Like a date or something?' "Feh. You're only real problem is exhaustion." He stroked his chin in thought. "I am **not** getting into a shower with you, young lady."

"Aw, didn't like what you saw?"

"Don't…go there. Listen, maybe I can just make a quick run to the Hokage and she'll give me something to give you. Maybe a soldier pill could help."

"I miss chakra. Go do that, please."

"I'll leave a clone here to keep you company." He got up and drew on his sandals.

"Why not send a clone?"

"If she's in a bad mood, the clone won't last. But I'm nearly indestructible. Sage mode and all."

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered. She did enjoy talking to him. Perhaps a clone would do just as good. "Hurry back."

He quickly created a clone and opened the door. "Yes, dear."

"We're not married!"

"Whatever gave you that idea?! You said so, not me!" He yelled in jest as he dashed off into the night. The clone shut the door and faced the girl, only to see her muttering to herself while a cloud seemed to have settled over her head.

 **=X=X=**

She still had yet to believe what had just happened.

Two Narutos had run past her. One had a pack with a storage scroll on top and seemed to be filled with traveling stuffs and thing of the sort, and the other which she was certain was the real one…

…Had a girl on his back.

What just happened?! Did she sleep through something important? Did she fail to receive a notice? Or was she just seeing things?

The girl was getting a piggy back by her longtime crush.

"Naruto-kun?" She whispered to herself. "Why were you carrying her?"

She ran around the corner, and as discretely and as quiet as she could, turned on her byakugan. At that point, she saw the three continue running until they must have passed the limits of the Hyuuga compound area. She strafed right and focused on them, and soon, she watched them stop in front of a small wooden post.

She knew the post. She had once hung her backpack on it while she trained by herself in the flatland field that stretched behind it. They seemed to be speaking about something, and she wasn't that well versed in reading lips yet.

Then, she observed the girl taken off of Naruto's back, and secretly enjoyed the fact of that. However, she noticed Naruto drag his hand across the rough top of it and cringed. She knew that the post had a nasty top, but then Naruto seemingly went through handseals and slammed his hand on the post. Then, she seemed to have been knocked back by a concussive strike to her eyesight and had to shut off her byakugan.

"Agh!" Blurs filled her vision, and then she saw a home seemingly waver into sight. As soon as she observed it with a reactivated byakugan, she rushed home.

 **=X=X=**

The night was probably as normal as it could get.

Matsuri got the pill, recovered to some extent, and took care of her…personal hygiene in what seemed a guest shower. Naruto did as well in another, and soon after, ate dinner that he practically took out of his arm.

Fairly normal.

Both changed and went to bed. Naruto slept in what he believed was a guest bedroom, and was adjacent to the next one that Matsuri decided to take up residence in. The Kunoichi wasted no time in unpacking what little she had all over the room, but Naruto was mellow in his. He did unseal some clothes to put in the wardrobe, but that was just to say he was settling in, to sever his ties to his apartment. The guest beds were far more comfortable than his old one, and sleep took them as soon as their head hit the pillows.

The morning was also fairly normal.

Both woke up in an unfamiliar setting, and both asked themselves where they were. Both opened the doors at the same time, and as soon as they saw each other, they simultaneously asked-

"Where are we?"

"What?"

"I asked you first!"

"Wait a minute."

"Oh yeah."

"We're in your/my dad's house."

"Wow."

"…"

"WOW!"

And they all said the same, in that remarkable conversation, with uncanny effect.

"Alright, time for breakfast, and then some exploring to get familiar." Matsuri suggested. "I got lost twice last night. What'cha got to eat?"

"We don't have to use my food. Food's probably in the kitchen." Naruto grumbled. He regarded her for a brief moment. She was in brown thigh-tights, and a vest. Her pink bra was visible in the thin material of her top. He briefly cursed himself for even noting the color of it.

She as well paid him an observing glance. He was in a pair of boxers that had chibi toads all over it and an orange merino, of all things. She suppressed a blush as his merino seemed to be airtight on his upper torso, and practically was a cast over his body and all the physicality's it had to offer for eye-candy seekers.

Not to say that she was one, but damn, she was impressed.

"Well, so one of us is going to make breakfast then?"

"Yup." He said with a sigh. "Rock-paper-scissors, and its best two out of three."

 **=X=X=**

There wasn't even a need for a tiebreaker, she wondered as she looked around the pantry and cupboards. "Is all of this safe? I mean, the house hasn't been accessed for at least all of your life, right?"

"That's right." He replied from his place around the stool table. It was rather like a bar counter, and he was on one side of it, reading a book. She was on the other side where all the storage like said cupboards, refrigerator, low lying deep-freezer, stoves, oven, and completely befuddled as she looked around and tried to gather her bearings. "Everything's safe. It's like it was in a non-existent dimension like a storage seal, so no time passed. It's like we entered the house the second after they left it. But why they stocked up on so much food, I have no idea. It was just the two of them at the time."

"I'm seeing seals in the food storage spaces. They must've been doing like what you do now, what with those seals on your arm."

"Like father, like son, I suppose." He answered with a grin. "Or maybe it was Kaa-chan. I dunno. Both were sealing masters."

"So you say." She took out eggs of the fridge and rested them against a rack next to the stove. She then took out some bacon she found earlier in the freezer section of the fridge. "So you say, indeed. But I'm feeling overwhelmed. I mean, I expected to stay in a bedroom, yeah. In your two-bedroom apartment, I thought when you suggested it the first time. But damn, I never expected something like a palace, or even like some kind of mansion."

Naruto frowned. Possessions like this made a deathbed terrible, nor was it soothing for one's life. His father must have felt even more lonely and isolated in this big-ass place, never mind how luxurious it was.

"How do you want your eggs?"

…

…

…

"Best sunny-side-ups…ever!" He congratulated.

"Why, thank you, dear."

"Um…we're not married." He momentarily stopped.

"I know. I just said it so you'll stop saying it to me. It's creeping me the hell out."

He smiled at this. "Thank you, dear, and I'll be sure to continue addressing you as such."

She growled audibly. "Careful, mister. Just 'cause I cook you breakfast, doesn't mean that we're in a relationship."

"You're boarding in my house, I 'take care of you like a man would his wife' and you just cooked me breakfast, along for yourself." He teased. "I think we do."

"Hmph. Maybe friends is as far I'd put it." She mumbled as she took up his empty plate so she could wash up the breakfast things. "I'm boarding, true. And I only cooked because I lost that game. You sure you didn't cheat?"

"Nope. And I'm glad you won, anyway. Think of it as working to earn your keep." He said smugly.

"Ha ha." She said in monotone, but still laced with the most potent of sarcasm. "Anyway, I'm not really doing anything today, and I don't think you are."

"Oh? Well, I have to stick with you then. But there's a register. You're not of family blood, so when you sign this 'register', you can explore all you want."

"A register?" She questioned his explanation.

"Oh sure. Jiraiya said that until he did, he had to constantly be on his toes about where he went, and things like that. Certain booby traps, killer-doorknobs that electrocuted you to unconsciousness or death, things like that." He said nonchalantly, ignoring how her eyes got larger the more he told.

"I could have died when I just traipsed off to find the shower the first time?!"

"Oh yeah. You could've." He answered matter-of factly.

"Why didn't you tell me!" She yelled, now furious, but still fearful of even continuing with the dishes.

"I didn't want to make you worry out the night. I intended to find the register this morning."

"Oh, and aren't you considerate." She remarked in the driest tone she could muster. "Didn't wanna worry poor ol' me. What if I had gotten hurt or killed?"

"I'd apologize to you in the hospital, or posthumously." He answered plainly. "Now let's go. It should be in this…building…well, it's only in that building across the way. The register can't be moved, so you have to come with me."

"Me?! I'm not moving an inch!"

Five minutes of carrying her over her shoulder, screaming for him to keep her off the ground later, they arrived in the small, rather cubicle like place. It was actually in a much larger building that seemed to have no purpose. Just a large perfectly square building, with the cubicle in the center.

Seals practically colored the whole cubicle from a white paint to a black, and Matsuri was nearly in a cardiac arrest after seeing it.

"Get me outta here! Just find me a hotel!"

"Girl, stop being a crybaby." He grabbed the doorknob, and felt a mild shock from it. He paid it no mind; it was probably a test for his heritage. He stepped inside with her, and put her down. No sooner than he put her down, she was standing on his feet, yelling her head off.

"I don't wanna die!"

"You're not going to die." He mumbled, trying to ignore the pain in his toes as she had her full weight on them. She was at the perfect height for his nose to be one inch from the top of her head, and got a whiff of it. Hmm, some sort of fruity aroma. Very nice. Very nice indeed.

He mentally slapped himself before he eyed the book and the quill feather and the ink-jar above it. "Look, there's the 'pen'. All you have to do, is take it up, sign your name in the first empty slot, and you're safe. I guarantee it." He hugged her to further reassure her.

She gradually came down from her emotional high and peered up into his face. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"…Promise?"

A flash through memory lane was all it took before he gazed down at her. "I promise."

"You…promise?" She questioned again to ensure what he said.

"My promises are as good as done. It's perfectly safe."

She did feel safe, although they were currently standing in some Kami-forsaken booth with some kind of a book that needed to be signed to allow her to live on the compound. She did feel safe in his embrace, even though it was purely friendly, and for encouragement purposes. She hesitated briefly, before getting off of his feet, relinquished his arms and approached the book. She steeled her nerves and took up the feather, dipped it in the ink, and wrote the kanji for her name.

"I don't have a last name. Is that alright?"

"It's fine. Now press a bloody fingerprint next to the name, and you're done." He inveigled.

She obliged, and bit her thumb to draw some blood. She then pressed the bloody thumbprint next to her name, and exhaled; long and deep. "I did it."

"Good. Now let's leave."

"Oh. Okay."

He gave her way to pass as she did. "After you, dear."

She punched him playfully in the shoulder before she grabbed the doorknob. She felt a mild electrical shock, and jumped in a startle. "What was that?"

"It means you passed."

"Huh?"

"If you didn't pass, you wouldn't have been able to even ask me that question. Not in the state of still being alive, I should say."

"Well, holy crap." She mumbled. "Anything else you can't bother to notify me about?"

"Lot's and lot's, my dear. Lot's and lot's."

 **That's that. I think I'm getting more efficient at typing these thousands and thousands of words every week to stick to a schedule, and still have time to live. I mean, although I'm still looking at the keyboard, I have never even seen my fingers move so fast. I typed 27k from Saturday night to Wednesday. Yippee!**

 **Sjdafgvcvucgv.**

 **Um…**

 **I totally meant to do that.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **I have no idea how I managed this…hell, this is part of a new record. Err, words per week, that is.**

 **I'm planning a Universal update next time in around thirty days, so…yeah. After this, bye-bye for a while.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Hmm…have I ever done it that simple? I can't remember. Oh crap, I just spoilt it by typing this bit.**

 **12.**

He closed the gate securely, and he felt chakra course through it and stayed. "I think the gate is now 'on' to kill anyone with unregistered blood, or at the very least, knock 'em unconscious."

"Well…I suppose that's alright." The girl noted. "No one has any business over here, right? Besides, anyone can just jump over the gate."

Naruto picked up a nearby pebble and threw it above the gate. As it reached the general line the gate offered, it was incinerated into dust. Ignoring the Suna Kunoichi's widened eyes, he shrugged. "I don't think so. This is pretty much as private as it gets. And just think about it. Pretty much everyone is going to know about my heritage by the end of the day, and they'll be trying to get over into the yard."

The girl groaned. "And if I stay at the house that kills people who try to get in at the gates, or even tries to knock on the gate…nothing more than the very best PR team ever made in existence currently can sweep that under the figurative rug."

"Stow your bellyaching." Naruto chastised. He quickly unsealed a large sheet of cardboard, a red marker, and a hammer and a nail. "I'll just make a sign. It won't take a minute."

…

…

…

"That took two minutes." Matsuri grumbled. "But at least the warning clearly states 'Avoid attempted entry upon loss of life and limb.' And the skull-and-crossbones is pretty much guaranteed to get through to anyone that the place is dangerous. Frankly, I think the whole security is overkill."

Naruto stepped back and admired the sign he nailed to the post. "Well…yeah. It's overkill. But better safe than sorry. Let's go."

They started off away from the compound, the early afternoon sun giving them short shadows as they walked. "I used to be pretty thick-headed. Maybe I still am. If I were a few years younger, I'd probably say to myself 'what a cheap trick', and head butt the gate or something."

"You? Thick?" She asked dumbfounded. "Wouldn't peg you for one. You seem so…err, enlightened to some degree."

"You forgot what I told you about when I was a genin?"

"You said that you were un-submitting failure. Meh, kinda like me, I guess." The brunette remarked. "Maybe all genin are like that. Anyway, it took us the whole morning to see most of your living area once, and now you're showing me around the village. I hope that doesn't take me the rest of my life."

"You don't need to see the entire village in one day. Only the good parts."

"What's that s'posed to mean?"

"The area I moved out of last night was really seedy, to say the least. Complete debauchery."

"Meaning?" She asked in a confused tone. This was a new word.

"Sex, drugs, alcohol…basically everything that people do to 'have a good time' by bad morals and standards." He replied. He walked a bit quicker now, and she had to struggle to keep up with him. Seeing her lag behind, he grabbed her wrist to aid her by nearly pulling her along. "Put a little pep in your step."

"What the- why?" She tried to pull her arm back, but his grip was like that of steel. "What's wrong?"

"Someone's following us!" He scream whispered. He quickly tried to initiate his sage mode, but he noted that it took several seconds more than normal, and he presumed it to be because he wasn't calm. As he tried to sense for their chakra signatures, he realized that several people were in fact following him. That did not improve his mood.

"What's happening?!" She fumed. "I'm not taking another step until you tell me what's going on!"

"Too bad." Naruto muttered. He started running, and she had to start running with him to avoid being dragged. "If you get left behind, chances are, you'll be mobbed with questioning, and are you really ready for that?"

"Of course I can handle that! Lemme go!"

"C'mon, it'll be fun to train yourself by running from them!" Naruto said in a large grin, unheeding that if the girl was to even trip while she was being pulled along at this speed, she'd get seriously hurt. "Don't you want to be able to catch up to me with pure physical abilities without using up all of your chakra?"

"Tempting." She answered sarcastically. "No. Besides, it's just questions! I **can** handle that."

"Hmm…supposed spawn of the Kyuubi turns out to be the Yondaime's son…" He spoke as if stating something obvious. "Moves into his expansive and expensive house in the night after it explodes into existence with a fantastic lightshow, and that Suna girl with him…is she spying on him?"

"Isn't that why we need to answer before rumors start?!" She yelled.

"Is she his girlfriend? They are living together. Look! They're holding hands!" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively while speaking in a mock-surprise voice.

She stared at him stupidly. "I didn't sign up for this! And…" Her eyes panned down to where he held her wrist. "You set me up!"

"Are you going to take the fall, or are you going to run?"

She yanked one last time and retrieved her arm. "I'm running." She sighed. "When we get back home, I'm going to poison you if I ever have to cook for you again."

"That's the spirit!" He congratulated, after his brief mind-wandering as to the fact of his speech; if she was his girlfriend or not. Truth be told, he didn't mind if he **did** have a girlfriend, but he had to be completely impartial if he wanted to be a Perfect Sage. If Matsuri was his, meh, whatever. She was fairly good looking, sure. Blunt, yes. Tenacious, yes. Good idealism, yes.

Then his mind started wandering a bit more before he had to quell it. He had barely registered the fact that the little nature chakra he had garnered for Sage mode had depleted and it was gone. "Come along, dear!" He shouted.

"Gah!" She yelled in exasperation. "You're making things worse!"

"I know!" He giggled. "Bigger risk, dangerous stakes, higher blood pressure, more fun!"

"This is…fun?!" She screamed in anger. "When we get outta this, so help me, I'm going to-"

"That's the spirit!"

They were fleeing through the streets like runaway mental patients as they yelled at one another. Soon, the six following them had increased exponentially as people saw the UzuNamikaze running with his Sage cloak flapping behind him, not to mention the girl they had seen on his back the previous night. "Look! It's Namikaze! And his girlfriend!"

She growled in her throat. "I blame you for this, Naruto."

Naruto glanced behind him. "Whoa…It must be everyone except for Nara's back there trying to catch up to us. All that mob back there needs is a lack of misbegotten worship in their eyes, some torches, some pitchforks and such, and the both of us would look like people trying to avoid getting lynched."

"Um…" She chanced a look behind them and saw what looked like angry girls and gulped. "I really, _really_ didn't ask for this. They might love you now, or some crap like that, but it looks like they want to kill _me_."

"Makes for good encouragement, my dear!"

"Would you stop-!" She turned back around to her face her fore and her eyes widened as she saw a cart in her and Naruto's way. She hurdle-leapt over it as Naruto side-flipped dramatically over it to clear it. "Is this normal to you, or something?"

"Nope." He smiled cheerily, which made her question his sanity. "But damn, we must've looked good doing that!"

"Couldn't you have just jumped over it like normal people?" She asked in a huff as they continued running from the people who seemed unable to make up their mind to say 'Wait for us Namikaze-sama', or to say 'get the Suna girl!'

"I'm…not normal?"

"NO!"

He seemed relieved at her answer. "Thank goodness. Abnormal is interesting, and normal is boring. Is this boring?"

"No."

"Good. Now lets continue to run to preserve our lives." He said simply. "No chakra, keep to the streets, and enjoy yourself!" He chided. All to soon, he had drifted too close to the wall, and people were crowded close to it, apparently watching some kind of intense strategic board game. He quickly put up a right foot on the all, before doing a picture perfect tic-tac wall run on it to get over them. "Yep. I'm awesome," he grunted as he quit on the fourth step and landed back when he was past them. "Can you do that without chakra, girlie?"

"No." She admitted. "But can you do this?" She ran straight for a passing cart in her way and leapt forward at it in a dive. As she was about to make contact on it, she placed both palms down and brought both knees through the space between her arms as she vaulted cleanly through to the other side. Easily done as she landed on the other side, she had a smirk on her face. "A lot of people are afraid for their knees."

"Congratulations." He offered. It was a good looking vault, and he one-upped it by jumping legs out first at his next obstacle, and when they were almost over, he braced his arms on it to help guide him over. "A free running girl, huh?"

"Hobbies." She admitted.

Naruto grinned. 'Damn. She's perfect. Uh…she's perfect…perfectly able-bodied!' He assured himself in his mind. 'Crap. I haven't even known her for a proper forty-eight hours. What the hell's going on with me?' He asked himself. He could have sworn that he heard the Kyuubi chuckle in his mind but thought nothing of it. 'Oh well-'

"Naruto! Look out!" Matsuri yelled.

He instantly returned to reality to find himself looking at a straight concrete wall…they had come to a 'T' intersection and needed to make a choice right away. Well, at least him anyway. He was only one meter away from the thing.

"Over!" He yelled. He made a small hop to make a brake as he landed, before jumping at the fence and stepped on it in a wall run, before making two more steps and grabbed the top. She did likewise, and both were standing at the top in two seconds. "Show off!" He declared as he back-flipped off forwards in a twist and landed. Glancing at her, she only did a front flip and landed securely on the balls of her feet.

"Aw, I'm better." He remarked snidely.

"You've had more practice." She said shortly.

And then the forgotten ninja leapt cleanly over the wall, and they were forced to run again…

…

…

…

"You used shadow clones to throw them off?" Ayame asked.

"Yep. I had 'em henge into me and Matsuri, here." Naruto affirmed. "Remember how I used to obsess about free running to tire myself out, Ayame-nee?"

"Yeah. You were all over the place." The ramen mistress replied with a nod.

"Well, she free runs too!" Naruto exclaimed. "We were freakin' awesome!"

"Not that awesome." Matsuri said grimly. "Everyone cornered us at the gate entrance to your house. Man, I nearly got axed. And two people died when they touched the gate to get in after us."

"I was really sorry about that, and I already apologized to their families, and a little money restitution, despite the fact that Tsunade-baachan said I didn't have to since there was a warning." Naruto claimed. "But that's two whole days ago. The whole village knows that my name's Naruto UzuNamikaze, most people give me some respect now, others don't try to shun me as much, but the thing is…" He trailed off as he leaned in closer. "I'm going to have to live the rest of my life looking over my back. A lot of people have it out for my dad, and they're going to hash it out with me. So Matsuri, you're in danger by extension. No more boring normalcy, yes?"

The Suna Kunoichi let her head bang unto the counter. "Aw, couldn't you have just stayed poor? My life wouldn't be in danger, would it?"

"No. But you're a ninja. Surely, you know that always being in danger is a given, don't you?" The blond responded sensibly. "Huh. But none of the others from my generation has even tried to talk to me, yet." Naruto said darkly. "News must've spread. I wonder how Tenten and Lee told the others? It must be why." He said in his reasoning.

"About what?" The two females asked.

"Ol' nine." Naruto said tersely. "I'm sure you knew already, Ayame-nee."

"'Ol' nine'?" She parroted. She then slapped her palm against her palm repeatedly. "Yeah, of course I knew. But you told them?"

"He told two of them in Suna." Matsuri commented. "They must've blabbed to the others, if I'm interpreting him correctly. If they're your friends, they won't care-"

"They're not my friends." Naruto stated. "They're like people I saw from time to time, made fun of me every now and again, and saw me like a reliable knucklehead. If I were really their friend, at least one of them would at the very least ask me 'Hey, Naruto, wanna grab a bite to eat?' Nothing like that ever happened."

"Yikes." Matsuri agreed. "Nothing, huh?"

"Yup." He said in resignation. "They didn't know back then, and still treated me like, 'um…it's what's his face.' Not really like that, but really, I was alone."

"Aw, you gonna cry?" Ayame teased. "I'm your surrogate sister, for crying out loud. Do you want to cry on my shoulder?"

"Hush and gimme my ramen, sis!" Naruto said in jest. As he took it from her, Matsuri carefully watched her companion and noted how that the fact remained that the matter had not been smoothed over as Naruto would like them to believe. For his entire episode, the person who she had thought to be leagues stronger than her looked…vulnerable and weak. He still appeared that way, and wondered why she was still inactive.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah, Matsuri?"

"Um," she started awkwardly. "I'll be your friend. If that says anything, I guess…"

He stared at her…

And stared…

And stared…

"Sure! Why not." He inched his stool over closer to hers and grabbed her in an immediate side hug. "Thanks a lot. Now I have one friend, plus…hmm…" He trailed off as he began thinking.

"Am I your first?" She asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Well…I was thinking of the Subakus, but I'm guessing that it more like adopted family members. I talk to Kankuro and Temari, through the brotherly bond with Gaara, I'm afraid. So…one plus zero… Yep, you're my first." He squeezed tighter. "Pleased to meet you, friend."

She felt her face heat a little before she tried to shake him off, but it was in vain. "Damn! You're too clingy! Get off of me!"

"Yes dear." He immediately let go to avoid getting poked with her chopsticks. "Tch. I make a friend, and I nearly get killed. Figures."

All was silent for a minute, before the three began to laugh.

 **Well…this was a piece o' crap.**

 **Yeah, I rushed this. Frankly, I have a lot of life issues to sort out, and I need the time off. I'll be back. If I'm not, it means that I owned** _ **Naruto**_ **and I'm redoing the series. This chapter…yeah, this one doesn't deserve anything but flames, I'm sure. Oh well, live and learn.**

 **Valete omnes, and hopefully back with better chapters next time,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **I'm back. UNVERSAL Update is in full swing and those who follow me, I know you're seeing the notifications. That's why you're here, ain't it? Life issues…now on the backburner and fiction writing…just ahead of that. I got six burners, so life still comes first at the front. Priorities, priorities.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Wait, you're reading this? The fic continues after this…after this…after this…after this…now…now…now…aw, damn it.**

 **13.**

He finished his meditating with a yawn as he came to. The Kyuubi was still acting as he always had been. That is, like an insufferable bastard whose ego was bigger than he was. Naruto was surprised that the cage was big enough for it, and the beast itself.

The seal was fine. No change as far as he could see.

"Well, that's that. I wonder what to do next. I should get some training in." He whispered to himself. "I can't afford to go soft."

He pulled on his orange and black tracksuit, hoping for a little excitement for the day. It was getting monotonous sticking around in his metaphorical (but is practically a) castle. It had been a week since his heritage was known, and as far as he knew, lovers of his father were now after him, as well as enemies. Not his father enemies, but _his_ enemies. There were still some who hated him for what he bore, and at night sometimes, he could see some outside trying to throw Molotov bombs unto the property, hoping that it would burn a building or at least burn his grass, he presumed. Matsuri had practically been corralled in like him and needless to say, their faces to one another were getting a bit too familiar. There were likely to be rumors outside that they really were courting. He held that as his fault.

He went downstairs and found her reading a book. She had curled up in an armchair to do so with her legs over the side of the chair-arm, and he found it homely; simple, yet still attractive. He promptly squashed those thoughts as he knew he would start imagining and recalling the time when he trial-read one of Jiraiya's books when they were on the training trip. When Jiraiya had found him with it later, he laughed at the boy who was fighting with himself to put it down, but would still pick it up to continue reading a minute later. Jiraiya had written a sex scene based on a secretary who sat like that in her boss's chair and to be frank…Jiraiya was graphic.

'Ugh! Damn corruption!' Naruto fumed to himself as his face reddened. 'Keep it together. I'm not a perve, I'm not a perve, I'm not a perve…' Despite his best efforts not to, his thoughts wandered to the description Jiraiya had wrote; for the life of him, he had no idea why he kept hearing the words in Matsuri's voice.

" _Oh~ Naruto-sama~ I've been waiting for you.~"_ Matsuri purred sensuously as she cocked one leg up innocently. _"I've been having some trouble with your directory log~. It's too big~, and it won't go through the mailing slot~."_

" _Are you sure?"_ Naruto answered in a sultry voice as he approached her. _"Let us try, my dear. It will have to fit, no matter how much I have to force-"_

"Naruto, why the hell are you looking at me and talking like that?!" Matsuri yelled in incredulity. Naruto seemed to have gotten a glazed look in his eyes and spoke as if he was going mental. However, as she spoke, he came back from wherever the hell he was as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped, completely flummoxed.

From the UzuNamikaze's perspective, all had come back to reality again and the Suna kunoichi who had a flabbergasted look on her face. In his episode, it had been one of lust and- 'Wait, she didn't move her leg? What the hell just happened?!' He felt growth in his loins and turned sharply and plopped himself down in the sofa, and sat with one leg across his knee at the crook of it.

The same sitting position that males typically used to hide boners in public.

"Oh!" He quickly thought of what he said as she sat up and stared at him. "Uh…We're not…fit!" He yelled the last. "We've been stuck in here for days! We need to get some exercise in!"

She gawked at him in disbelief.

"EVEN IF I HAVE TO FORCE YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs.

She wagged a finger at him while her eyes narrowed, sitting up properly. She looked as if she wanted to tell him off; or to his growing fear, catch on to his fib, or even worse, the actual truth. But instead, she replied with-

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me 'dear'?"

Deciding that he was in the clear, he nodded fervently to appease her. "Yeah. I forgot, sorry."

"You know what? Forget it." She sighed in resignation. "I'm getting something to eat." She got up and left her book in the chair, and Naruto in his seat thanking his lucky stars that he was alive and in one piece. As soon as she left the room, he bolted as well upstairs to take a cold shower, all the while cursing to himself about his 'damned hormones'.

 **=X=X=**

"Hey. Are you sane again?"

"Yeah," he said evenly. He had a right to be. It was now seven a.m., fourteen hours since his little 'accident'. He had a right to be and speak the way he was currently. He had to save face, and in this…disposition.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I don't want to bunk with a psycho on a property that can kill people." She said bluntly.

"You'll be fine." He intoned. "But still, I'm getting tired of being cooped up. I'm going out; want to follow?"

"About damn time, if you ask me." She responded hastily. "I want to meet people, not being stuck with your crazy ass without anyone to call on in case you snap." She took a sip of her green tea while she looked out the window, gazing at the gate.

"I'm not insane. Dangerous, hai." He said matter-of-factly. "Now…what to do?"

…

…

…

He had an all-black coat on, one of the exact size and make of his sage cloak. He wore this occasionally, and only Jiraiya knew that he only wore that thing when he was in a no-nonsense mood. Gone was the emotional youth, and in his place, an unshakeable, unremitting, unrelenting force of nature that was a Sage. He was no longer a person who could really be reasoned with…that was because he oozed reason and cold logic itself. (Pity that Gaara didn't know of this temperament he had sometimes.) His sensei could have written a private letter to his teammate regarding that new side of him, but what could he say? He knew only the properties to this personality, but had no idea to what could trigger it. Perhaps it was one of the traits and effects of becoming a complete Sage, Naruto himself believed.

Matsuri had seen the obvious 180' degree change in his persona and wondered what could possibly be wrong with him. She had never seen him like this, and wondered if he knew of her existence as he walked briskly to the gate and she lagged behind him in terms of speed.

They were soon at the entrance/exit gate and without further ado, Naruto un-chambered one of the massive sliding bolts and opened it. Someone tried to duck past him to get unto the property, but Naruto firmly grasped the chunin by the neck in a choke-hold, and push-threw the man away over the crowd's head with a thrown distance of a hundred meters; hints of visible white senjutsu force emanated around his movements.

"I shall go about living my life and minding **my** business, and all of you should attend to yours." The UzuNamikaze spoke clearly and stark evenness to the crowd of civilians and ninja alike as he gazed at them with toad-like eyes. "Leave me, and my companion be." He gestured to the Suna ambassador who exited behind him and stood slightly behind him, in case anyone decided to risk throwing something. None did anything of the sort as the crowd of around three or four dozen trickled away before mass leaving in all directions away from the pair, and Naruto nodded to himself. "Fine. Matsuri, please lock the gate."

She was slightly startled to hear him address her like that. He said nothing alluring or repulsive, but he commanded such a presence that she did the task immediately, without any room for complaint, or comment.

He formed the ram seal, and after a period of five seconds, felt a potent pulse of nearly-visible chakra radiate from his person that lifted the dust and disturbed the foliage of shrubs and trees. His task completed, he beckoned to her.

"Shall we go?" Without even waiting for her answer, he started walking away from the direction of the commercial area of the village. The compound was in the east, the commercial area in the center, the residential districts mostly ran along the western and south ends, and the training grounds took up the north, along with everything else. The road they were on, only went in two directions. One lead to commercial, and the other…she'd never gone in that one before.

"Where are we going?" She asked in trepidation.

"I'm going to see the others of my generation." He answered without turning back to her to speak. "They're all together."

"…Do I have-"

"No, you don't have to follow." He interrupted. "You're free to make your own decisions."

She was seriously considering making a run for it to get away from this stranger, but resisted the urge. "I'll come."

He didn't acknowledge the answer as he continued walking.

…

…

…

"So, we all know then, I take it?"

"Tenten told Hinata. Your cousin just closed up, man. She's just…there. Like some kinda mute person and deaf person."

"Why would you tell **her**?" Neji felt his blood pressure spike as Kiba tattled on Tenten, who suddenly decided that she had to go. However, the sense that she was running away from a problem which was her teammate's wrath when they met four times a week told her that it was a bad idea.

"…I…I felt that since pretty much everyone was in on it…"

"She's infatuated with him. What do you think this could do to her? If anyone were to have told her, it would be him. Not hearing it from someone else!" The Hyuuga was uncharacteristically emotional as his eyes swiveled to see Hinata seated on a log under a tree around thirty yards away in the shade. "Frankly, this has been nothing but a massive pile of-"

"Take it easy, Neji," Ino cautioned. "Besides, I think Tenten's right. It wouldn't be fair if everyone else knew and not her."

Shikamaru who was lying on the ground close by yawned. "You have no idea how wrong you are. I asked my dad about it. It turns out that all of us from this generation weren't meant to know. It's an S classed secret, and no matter what kind of standing we have, our heads will roll if we talk about it so freely. If Naruto gets pissed at us, you think he'll kill you? All he has to do is tell Lady Tsunade and it's our heads on a damn pike…how troublesome this is..."

"Whoa whoa." Tenten held up her hands. "I could get executed for telling you guys?"

"You and Lee." Shino said in monotone. "Why? Because he told me and Ino, and he was quite vocal."

Shikamaru had a panic attack as he heard the Aburame. "Lee who normally shouts everything told the biggest gossip-girl in the village?"

"Hey, hey," Ino defended. "I'm taking offense to this. And besides, I went to my tou-san straight-after, and he set me straight already about not telling anyone. And Lee was a bit more discreet than usual. It was just us in the flower shop. Shino was there getting rid of the insects that ate the plants, and Lee came in and told us."

Akamaru barked repeatedly and Kiba frowned. "Akamaru says he heard you tell Sakura. But it was fine, 'cause Sakura told you that she knew already."

Neji glared at the platinum blond who had the decency to look ashamed as she muttered about dogs minding their own business. "So... To recap, everyone told everyone, and only Naruto, Sakura and Chouji, who is also in on the secret are unavailable currently."

"Sakura's working at the hospital and Chouji's with his dad helping out in the Akimichi restaurant," Ino volunteered. "And Naruto's holed up in his fancy new palace of a home. He's the most sought after guy in the village. People are throwing themselves at him, and things at him, last I heard when he was out running with some Suna girl."

"Hmm? It must be Matsuri!" Lee shouted. "He had invited her to stay with him for boarding! Now he has a youthful house!"

"What the heck is this guy on?" Kiba muttered to his dog. Akamaru began a staccato of barking, after which Kiba's eyes widened as he paled in fright. Tenten noticed this and asked him what was wrong.

"Err…Akamaru just told me-"

"Good morning, all." A new voice spoke. All eyes turned to look at the owner, and all felt mixed reactions when they saw the main subject of their ruminations standing twenty yards from them, standing at ease while his face was stoic. "I trust that you've all had a pleasant morning thus far?"

Matsuri came out from behind him, apparently having walked in his exact footsteps. She stood slightly behind him, and the apprehensive look on her face did not add to their mood in a happy fashion. Upon looking up, Hinata's eyes widened in recognition as she sat up and approached to stand next to the others. "The morning was…fine?" Kiba said lamely. "Anyway, nice to see you, Naruto-"

"You don't sound earnest." Naruto said in an unnerving monotone. For some reason, the tone was even flatter that Shino's own, and much more condescending, if that were possible. It also had traces of sarcasm for seasoning. "You sound displeased and discontented to see me. I wonder as to why that could be?"

Ino put her hands on her hips in a coquettish manner as she eyed her fellow blond. "Huh. What's with the new look, Naruto? All dressed in that black coat."

"There's nothing wrong with which I adorn myself on the outside." Naruto replied. "But it seems to me that you have been freely conversing with one another pertaining to what I carry on the inside."

"That's true." Shikamaru admitted as he got up off of the ground where he had been laying on his back. "There has been quite a bit of that."

"You all know, I presume? I expected no less from one who speaks more than he listens, and in a volume most unnecessary." He said pointedly, glancing at Lee. "And another who would run to tell her teammate not even an hour after she herself heard."

They were all silent, but Neji was too busy considering how Naruto could've surprised them all with his appearance, when he walked over to them from across the field. He was beginning to feel less of a Hyuuga than he ought to be. **(1)**

"What are your opinions?" Naruto asked plainly. "You now know of the Kyuubi. All of you."

"I don't know how to feel." Ino said hurriedly. "Can I go?"

"I'm not keeping, nor withholding your departure. However, keep in mind that I would like to hear an honest opinion from you before you leave." He answered. "I will not delay you, but it would serve you well to know that failure to state your feedback…or if it's a rejoinder…" He trailed off. After Ino asked Neji discretely what the last word meant and he told her that it was basically a negative reaction to something. "I may perhaps hold it against you. Not physically, or course, but I'm sure you can already tell the difference."

They all could. They **all** could.

"To be frank, I find no fault with you." Shino said. "The curse of the Aburame to carry their hives of kikaichu in their bodies have earned us scorn. To know that you share a similar burden…adds only respect to which I already had for you."

Naruto nodded to this and turned to Shikamaru. The Nara merely yawned disinterestedly. "I don't care. But if you try to rip me to shreds, then I will."

Naruto actually smiled grimly for a split-second before it fell back into dry expression. He then turned to Tenten, who cringed. "I…Ugh. Neji talked to me about how cool you were, and I suppose he's right. You deserve better, and I hope that nothing changes between any of us."

"Yosh!" Lee cried. "And the beast that he and Gama-sama transformed into fought Gaara's Shukaku of the Desert! In fact, I wish I had a beast of my own to have such youthful power!"

Naruto frowned at this. "You wouldn't like it Lee. Believe me. Neji?"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really. Besides, if you weren't under your own control, you could've poisoned me. But remind me to kick your ass after you made me take a hit for you from Matsuri." Neji said with a jesting undertone. This was also highly unexpected of him, and the others drew strength from it.

"Um…Naruto…" Ino began.

"Hai?"

"To be honest, when I heard, I became afraid of you. I still am, and this…side of you right now just isn't changing that."

"Hmm…Perhaps I should release the seal holding back the Kyuubi. He keeps griping at me to do so."

"NO!" They all shouted. Ino threw out all caution to the winds and continued hurriedly. "You're fine, you're fine!"

"That's not convincingly honest."

"Err…Thanks for…holding back the beast, okay! Although I have so many questions…"

"And you'll have your answers. Inuzuka?"

Said Inu clan member suddenly felt put on the spot. "I…I…" He sighed. "Words escape me." He quoted.

"Bad or good?" Shikamaru asked.

"Naruto, you're alright, man! But with all that power you've got, I'm chunin, and you're still a genin. Ha!"

"You'll have your clash with me to decide if rank is that important. Hinata?"

And all breathing among the present Nin ceased, save for Hinata and Naruto. Even the wind stopped blowing, and the birds stopped chirping. All sound had abandoned the planet while the two people gazed at each other fixedly.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…To be honest..." The girl spoke clearly. "I didn't know what to think. At first, I wondered if I should hate you, but I can't find it in me to do that… Suddenly, everything made sense. The villager's entire general outlook towards you, and the loneliness you seemed to have wallowed in. It made me angry at myself for my weakness and my inhibitions for not being there beside you when you needed someone. That's when I realized that I don't care that if you were a jinchuriki. I didn't care that you held a curse." Her volume had steadily increased as she gained confidence in her speech. "I didn't care that you held the bane of Konoha's existence. It's because I love you regardless of your burden."

… **And end that goddamn scene.**

 **This has been a definite improvement from my slumps. Whoop-de-doo. And it only took one night. A pity it only takes you around eight minutes to read. Anyway, why don't you take two more to type a review to make it an even ten? Anyway, there will be a follow up update within an hour or two. Just um…read other fics or waste time or something while you wait for the notification.**

 **1- It's been a bit of a joke to poke fun at Neji, because as a Hyuuga, he's supposed to 'see' everything, when he was in fact, noticing less than what ninjas should. Meh, maybe its bashing…I dunno. Just a little joke…yeaaahhh…**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **To be honest, I expected more reviews.**

 **Would you believe that I typed this on the 19** **th** **of March and somehow foresaw that you did not review as I would have wanted? Creepy.**

 **14.**

Naruto's toad-like eyes seemingly studied and considered the girl inside and out, checking for cracks and lies. But he detected none in her speech, and his current Sage Mode told him of her integrity. 'She loves me? Is that it? What happens now?' "I see."

Kiba was about to freak out but his shoulder was grabbed by Neji. "Of course. Perhaps the both of you would like to speak alone?" The Hyuuga suggested pointedly. He quickly shared a look with Hinata, and the girl got the hint.

"That would be prudent and sensible. Hinata…walk with me?" The UzuNamikaze asked politely. His countenance had changed somewhat, but it was only in the undertones of his voice. His current persona was still entirely there.

"Hai, Naruto-kun." She came over to Naruto and stood before him. He gestured a hand backwards as if to say 'ladies first' and the heiress did. As she walked on a bit, he turned back to Matsuri.

"I apologize Matsuri. There are some unforeseen complications..."

"I…it's fine." She reassured in a slightly quivering voice. "You should go with her."

"Perhaps it would do you some good to socialize with these of your age."

"Sure, sure. You'd better catch up. She's waitin' on you." She hurried him along while trying to ignore her feeling of her stomach tying itself in knots. She didn't know why, but as she watched him nod a farewell and walked away with the girl who just confessed to him, the feeling grew worse.

She didn't know how long she stared after their retreating forms as they disappeared with distance. Finally, she gave an unconvincing shrug before she turned to the others behind her.

"Well…uh…Hey Neji, Tenten, Lee? Mind introducing me? I'm new, and I'm going to be around for a while, you know." She brought her wavering confidence back under control as Lee began yelling out everyone's names while the blonde girl started making resolutions on who she needed to speak to. And of course Neji who was currently admonishing the girl that she'd better not.

 **=X=X=**

They were walking in silence.

In fact, they had strolled for all of fifteen minutes, and somehow or another, found themselves in the beginning of the compound area. Before Hinata realized it, she was standing in front of the gate to the Hyuuga compound. That was made obvious by the two Hyuuga guards who were native to the branch family who hailed to her.

"Good morning again, Hinata-sama!" They chorused.

"Oh! Oh. Good morning." They had told her the pleasantry earlier that morning, and they were doing so again for the second time.

"You wish to enter, I take it?" One of them asked her.

She became confused, and turned to Naruto. "Why did you walk me home?"

"I reasoned that home would be where your confidence is strongest, and you would be more reserved. If it were elsewhere, you would be constantly on the lookout for others who could be spying on you, or being constantly disturbed due to my…recently acquired social standing in the village." He answered if it were obvious. "Are you allowed to bring in guests? Although you are the heiress, I've heard that Hyuuga are a bit…territorial, in a matter of how many people I've heard are allowed access."

"I've never had, before. This is a first." She mumbled.

The UzuNamikaze turned to the guards who were having mixed feelings as to what they should do about him. One, he was still practically the bane of Konoha, two, he was now…well…the Fourth Hokage's son, and three, if he wanted to, he could just barge his way in anyway. And those amber-eyes of his with the horizontal bar made for a rather intimidating stare, even more than their own when they had their byakugans activated.

One did the smart thing, and immediately went to tell the Clan Head.

In two minutes, the guard returned and told his fellow security man to open the gate to allow them passage. Upon entry, the guard who had originally left informed Naruto that he should 'go and speak to Hiashi-sama before anything else'. Naruto approved of this sidetrack, and asked Hinata if she would lead the way to her father.

…

…

…

He thanked the girl and just before he knocked on the door, he was invited inside by the Clan head's call. Promptly opening the door, he went inside the room to behold an impressive study. The Hyuuga head himself was seated behind a large desk with some paperwork off to the side, but the middle/center was completely free of any such obstacles.

"Good morning, Hiashi-sama." Naruto greeted. "May I have a seat?" He gestured to the armchair in front of the same desk, and Hiashi responded in the affirmative.

"You may."

He seated himself in the armchair 'professionally', as one would expect of an aristocrat. "May I ask as to why I've been summoned?"

The Hyuuga scrutinized the young man before him. Gone was any evidence of his usually notorious brash behavior. He almost felt…disappointed. Not that he missed that side of him, but Naruto appeared to look right at home, sitting across from someone as important as he. 'He's changed. But he was of his usual nature when last he was seen in public.' "Hai. It's pertaining to my daughter, Hinata."

Naruto didn't even flinch. "Please continue."

No nervousness or trepidation, no guilt-streaks, nothing. It was as if Naruto was the Hyuuga, and he wasn't one. "You wished to be her guest on the compound. I'm inquiring as to why you would request such a favor."

"Perhaps you would like her to accompany me to _mine_?" He said the last condescendingly, and Hiashi nearly lost his cool.

'So because he's a double clan-head, has more financial assets, and…a bigger property…he thinks he's better than me? That he's worthy of my daughter?' "I would rather you wouldn't."

"As is the reason why I followed her here. I hope I'm not imposing myself. I merely wished to converse with her, in an area I was sure she would be comfortable."

"Pray tell what the topic would be of, UzuNamikaze."

"But of course, Hyuuga…" At the sound of a lack of an honorary suffix, Hiashi ground his teeth at the backhanded blow at his lack of formal respect for him. Especially in his own home. "Not even thirty minutes ago, your daughter, Hinata confessed her feelings of and towards me."

On the outside, the man was as cool as a cucumber. On the inside, he was a violent myriad of emotions, cursing the teen before him, cursing out Hinata, cursing out the lack of formalities, respect, and the fact that Naruto's toad-like gaze was starting to get to him now intimidation-wise while his own wasn't unsettling Naruto in the least. "I see. You should speak to her now, then. I suppose that she's been waiting for you long enough."

"I don't find two minutes a lengthy amount of time."

"So you'd rather keep her waiting?!" The man exclaimed in growing fury. But to his surprise, Naruto chuckled wryly for a bit before he stood.

"And so, the Hyuuga cracks first. I thought it would be me." Before Hiashi could retort, Naruto had already exited out the door, leaving him on his own.

…

…

…

"A garden?" Naruto observed. "So be it." He sat down on the swing next to hers, and gazed around. "It is beautiful, I admit. The Hyuuga clan isn't as two dimensional as I believed they would be, if they appreciate the wonders of nature to go to this extent."

"It…it was actually I who planted and cared for this garden." She offered. "I feel relaxed here, knowing that it's the fruit of my labors."

"I would have expected this from a Yamanaka, but nonetheless, we were to speak of your…feelings towards me. Did you mean all that you claimed?"

"I do!" She exclaimed. "I do."

"Is it because of my newfound standing I inherited from my parents along with their prestige and wealth?"

"No. I always have." She insisted. "I was too...shy to tell you before."

"That particular tidbit makes sense," he admitted gruffly. "The constant blushing and patterned fainting spells when you knew I was a around. But you certainly had a…unique way of showing it."

"I've never said or done anything against you," she defended lamely. "Never spited you, treated you unequally-"

"That's true." He had been staring straight out in front of him the whole time, but now, he turned his gaze to her. "How do you see me, Hinata? Do you see me as some warrior in shining armor? A noble person?"

"No. I see you as someone I can aspire to be, someone I wish I could catch up to. It…it's your will in which I have always admired, and wished I could have one like yours. I wish to be someone who could be your equal so I could walk with you, sharing and caring for one another. To bolster one another's spirits when they're low, to-"

"Pardon me, but let me stop you right there." Naruto interrupted. "To be frank, that doesn't sound like love. It sounds like you look up to me as a role model. Nothing more."

"Then how would you describe love?" She queried, now getting confused as doubt began creeping through her veins.

"Love is a singular even through which a pair has an arduous period in which they discover the need to be near one another, engaging in life with an endless amount of tenderness, affection, passion, fondness, devotedness, attachment, appreciation, benevolence-"

"I do-"

" _For one another_ ," he finished. Her heart fell as she realized that this was his way of telling her that he did not love her. She was about to collapse in tears when he grasped her shoulder as if in reassurance. "Hinata."

"Hmm?" Tears had already started forming, but she didn't wipe them away. He pitied that look, and wondered how life would play out if he _did_ end up with her.

"I'm not trying to break your heart. Instead, I'm merely trying to break your fantasy."

"It's not a fantasy!" She shouted.

"It is." He replied firmly. "You're clinging to the hope that we could be a couple, even now as we speak. You need to drop this infatu-"

"So you're telling me to give up?!" She retorted emotionally.

"You just admitted to what I just said." He said in monotone. "But regardless, I'm not telling you to give up. I'm saying to redirect your love in another fashion. According to what you said, you have no yearning for intimacy. You only desire to be my equal, however low I may be…" Before she could confront him on that, he continued. "We could still be as such. _As friends_ , or _close friends_ , if you prefer. I'm sure that if it weren't for my being a Sage, I would most certainly make an effort to return your feelings." He felt like kicking himself for saying that, as he recalled what happened the previous evening. He had slipped up, then. He would make an effort to do so no longer.

"A…Sage?" That title sounded rather important. "What does being a Sage have to do with your emotions?"

"To be straight-forward, one of the requirements is that I have to kill my emotions to be completely impartial and balanced as a whole. I cannot and must not hate…and I cannot and must not love. I'm sorry."

And then, in Hinata's mind, she despised the idea of Sages. That was quite understandable, and it did explain how he seemed to be so blunt and cold. Not cold, but he was just…not warm, if she had to put it that way. Like he had gone from being sunny weather to being grey skies.

She had no idea how right on the mark she was.

He got up, and she did as well, finally wiping away her sorrow-liquid on her face using one sleeved-arm as she ran it over. "I understand, Naruto-kun. But do you have to be a Sage for life?"

"I'm under oath to be." He said simply. "But hai. Friends. Perhaps next time when you see me, you'll join me, and not hide behind some obstacle while using your byakugan to watch me."

She blushed heavily in embarrassment. "Ano…I…"

"I'm joking." He said in the same monotone. "I suppose that you can't tell from my current tone. But as you can see, I'm no good for you. As you are now, you could have anyone you wanted in the village. Why waste it on me?"

"You're worth it." She responded matter-of-factly.

"I wish," he answered succinctly.

Perhaps later he would regret those words, but for now, at least she wasn't having an emotional breakdown. **That** , he was grateful for as she followed him to the gates so he could leave.

 **=X=X=**

"So how did your day go?"

"Fine."

"Sure?"

"Sure."

She felt like tearing out her hair. "What's up with the attitude, huh?"

"Do I offend?" He asked blandly in his becoming disturbingly-familiar monotone.

"Err…no." She confessed. "But it's like you're bipolar or something? What's up with that?!"

"I'm a Sage. This is how I'm supposed to carry myself."

It had been a trying day, one in which Matsuri had discovered why she never opt to par with Lee, chat with Ino, laze with Shikamaru, count insects like Shino, learn to speak 'dog' with Kiba, throw weapons all around with Tenten and stare at everyone as if they're crazy like Neji. To be delicate, Naruto had some very colorful associates. She even heard there was another who was supposed to be there, but he ate like a horse. In fact, never mind the horse. That was an insult to horses which were on smaller diets than he.

And while they were 'colorful', her host who sat in the kitchen reading a scroll seemed to be the exact opposite. She had to wonder where the excitable youth went. It's like he acted weird in one evening, and resolved to be like how she heard Gaara used to be. 'Wait, Gaara? Don't I usually say 'Lord Kazekage'?'

"Well, if that's the case, Sages must be boring," She said carelessly. "Where's the guy who was all about being crazy and fun and abnormal, huh?" 'Just one day, and I already miss his goofy side.'

"Perhaps you should attend a social event in Commerce," he suggested. "Seeing as my company is too tasteless for your standards. Just be sure to lock the gate behind you. We wouldn't want a repeat of this morning."

She huffed to herself. "Fine."

Without further ado, she retreated to the living room where she drew on her sandals and stepped out, closing the door behind her. She inhaled deeply the scent of the jasmine, before striding confidently to the gate. The gate was quite a distance from the main house where they resided, around a hundred and thirty-to-fifty meters. She thought nothing of the distance, but kept glancing back to see if he would run to come tell her it was all some big joke. She briefly wondered why she would even entertain that notion, but she soon ignored it. At least Ino had told her that there was a Social tonight being put on at the Nara compound, and she might as well go check it out. If not for the social, but to see where Temari had stayed, in comparison to Naruto's place-

"Ugh. There it goes again." She mumbled heatedly with a groan. She grasped the large bolt and un-chambered it from the hold to open the gate. As soon as the gate was opened, she felt her wind knocked out of her as she was tackled head-on in the stomach. "*Oof*!"

She landed on the ground flat on her back, and immediately pulled out a kunai from a holster she kept on her hip. She barely had it up in time to block her assaulter's own and sparks gashed. In the brief clash, the sparks lit up their locality, and she saw a Suna hitai ate on the woman's forehead.

"What the-?!" She kicked up to throw the person off, but failed miserably as the person gripped their kunai to stab her in the neck, while grabbing her kunai arm by the wrist.

In the sense of better sacrifice, she raised her hand to stop it, but she wasn't entirely prepared for the feeling of steel to slice into the flesh of her palm as she held on to the bladed portion to avoid having a new way to breath through her throat.

"Gah!"

The attacker growled in anger as they wrenched her wrist to get rid of the kunai in her right hand. She held on, although she could feel the wrists in her bone crack; this person was exceedingly strong-

'STRONG!'

"Naruto!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "HELP!"

The offender grunted as they pulled the kunai they had in her palm in a sawing motion to get her to let go. She gritted though agonizing pain as the razor-edged ninja tool cut her hand to the bone and blood dripped freely unto her face and eyes like an absolute nightmare. But in her ebbing resolve to keep hanging to the knife, her hand slipped closer to the hilt which exposed the point. The attacker pressed on with this advantage unto her throat.

Just as she watched helplessly as her life was about to be snuffed out, the woman was pulled off of her, even as she was yelling to kill Matsuri. The voice was familiar, but soon the voice soon turned to that of high-pitched screaming. She quickly leaned herself up on her good hand and watched with wide eyes as someone held up the struggling and screaming woman by the back of the head in one hand. Her savior was standing behind her potential killer as she was hoisted up by a right hand.

The woman screamed for an agonizing five seconds before her head exploded in a shower of gory blood and brain matter, just as Matsuri turned away. When she turned back fearfully to look again at the development, she saw the blue chakra sphere of a rasengan sitting in the hand of her savior, and illuminated the blood spattered form of Naruto, a grim look on his face. The rasengan soon flickered out but her mind continued to paint his bloodied image in her mind

"Are you alright?"

 **Boom! Yeah! That was RAW, man! Hard-Core Naruto!**

 **Meh, whatever. It's plausible, but he slowly created a rasengan inside someone's head. When it was fully formed, that head went off like an M-80! Ugh. I need to see a psychiatrist. Anyway, that's all, and don't forget to review. But don't ask questions as to how a Suna killer chick ended up in the village.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **It's been a while. I guess I really milked that slight cliffhanger, huh?**

 **15.**

 **Whoa, whoa. First, the disclaimer:**

 **I don't own Naruto.**

 **Alright, now to start the chapter.**

 **15.**

"Better?"

"Better. I can't feel a thing."

"That's good to hear," Shizune answered with a relieved smile. "Now then-"

"Naruto! What were you thinking?!" Tsunade yelled the question.

"I wasn't," he answered blandly. "I acted on base instinct and as much as it appalls me to say this…" He looked up and stared at the Hokage with amber eyes. "I don't regret any of it. If I do, it's most likely my late arrival to stop Matsuri's bodily harm."

'That sounds a tad personal. Why?' The Suna Kunoichi asked herself. Even the Hokage asked this question aloud and the Uzu-Namikaze answered it, albeit unsurely.

"I…perhaps it's because it happened on my property. She's supposed to be safe in the reputedly most secure place in the village, even more so that your own home, Hokage-sama. The fact that they breached my home to harm my guest was reason enough. It was a travesty."

"That's…true." Tsunade admitted. "Sounds plausible. But forming a rasengan inside the head was brutish, unnecessary and inefficient, even if it were the only option. Not only will we never know the woman's identity, but a kunai could have gotten the job done for a kill, or just simply knocking her out. Why go so far?"

"Just retribution," Shizune muttered to herself, but only Matsuri heard given by her proximity. "Naruto's getting awfully overprotective of Matsuri. First he threatens Tsunade-sama and her guards, and now he goes too far just to save Matsuri."

'Overprotective of _me_?'

"Matsuri." Tsunade announced her name, startling the brunette out of her thoughts.

"Errm, hai?"

"Kakashi already filled me in on the situation in Suna, and why you're the ambassador here. But before we get to that, are you sure you didn't recognize the person?"

"No. It was too dark."

"Would you be able to recognize her in a picture? We need to notify Gaara and I'm not about to just tell him that you got attacked, 'the end'."

"Ah, incompetence."

"Naruto, shut your damn pontificating. This is mostly your fault. For the love of Kami, you blew up the woman's head. If you had just-"

"Taken the time to analyze the situation while Matsuri was seconds away from perishing?"

"…" Tsunade groaned while slapping her forehead in exasperation. "Naruto, you're impossible. Get lost."

The Uzu-Namikaze merely nodded once before he left in a body-flicker out the window, leaving the Hokage baffled that he had actually listened. And it was 'Hokage-sama this' or 'Hokage-sama that'. Where did this Naruto come from?

"Shizune…"

"No drinking on the job, ma'am."

"You're impossible too. Hmm…I need to get Naruto distracted." Tsunade hemmed and hawed, wondering what she could do.

"Perhaps give him a mission to do?" Matsuri suggested.

"That could work," Kato agreed. "He always throws himself into anything he does. But Matsuri, did you do anything to him to make him act the way we're seeing?"

"No. I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"Nothing?" Tsunade asked dangerously. "He's acting strangely…I need to send a message to Jiraiya. Find out what the hell's wrong with him, if this is related to him being a Sage. In the meantime, if Naruto were to leave on mission, are you sure you can manage to be in that house alone?"

"I'm the only one who can actually set foot on the compound or even walk about freely on it besides Naruto without the risks of dying." Matsuri assured. "No one else can and will come in to do anything, so long as they don't lay-wait for me at the gate."

"I never understood how that worked," Shizune complained. "Other people can't even touch the gate without dying, or even jump over. How come it allows you to go over there? I'd like to see it."

"I don't think it's my place to say how and why." The Suna ninja protested. "Besides, I'm sure that if everyone and anyone were meant to know, he'd tell them himself."

"Then what makes you so special?" Tsunade asked with narrowed eyes. She had to admit that she felt a bit jealous. Didn't Naruto trust her to allow her passage as well?

"Me? Special? I dunno. I have to admit, Naruto's a bit of a pity case, but I'm his friend if that counts for anything."

The two medic Nin shared a look while nodding. "I see," the Senju answered with a nod. "I don't think Naruto's going to leave without you on the mission. Since you're an ambassador, you have to stay put, like an envoy is supposed to."

"Are you saying he wouldn't leave me behind? Then what am I supposed to do?"

"For starters, I don't think I approve of Naruto's state. If you even have an inkling of an idea as to change him back, I'd appreciate it." Tsunade mumbled. "Hell, maybe the way he's acting now the reason why Jiraiya always insisted that his reasons of not completing Sage training were personal. I always thought it was an inability. Maybe I'm over-thinking this but if I'm right, then Naruto will have to stay as is for the time being."

"Tsunade-sama? If Naruto-kun is acting more maturely and reserved, isn't this a good thing?" Shizune piped up in a suggestion. Her mentor merely turned to her stiffly with a raised eyebrow as if to say 'really?' The raven haired woman then nodded unsurely, making the Hokage sigh.

"Shizune, to be frank, currently, only his looks alone and not his attitude reminds me of Nawaki. It's disturbing."

Disturbing indeed.

 **=X=X=**

The Kyuubi howled and thrashed against the seal of the gates but it failed to budge a single inch.

' **What went wrong? It was getting loose! Now it's secure?!'**

The beast finally stopped before settling on its hind legs, pausing to gather all of its rationality. **'Hmm…it was getting weaker up until he recalled his blasted teacher's literature. Or was it after? He somehow changed his mentality during the night to resist and repress all forms of emotion. He's regained control!'**

That was a word he truly despised.

' **If he remains like this, I may never escape this torment!'**

It wasn't as if he had anywhere to be, anywhere to go before a deadline. He had nowhere to go, but it was the principle of the matter. A jailed man would even trek through the most expansive desert without water or provisions by crawling if it meant being free. The nine tailed Kitsune felt the same way.

But then, its container had unconsciously strengthened the seal. Kyuubi needed to influence him somehow to get him to release it. He had a vast knowledge of how the Naruto's body worked. Emotions, physicality, hormones…all he needed to do was to find away to exploit a crack such as one of these, make the boy excessively emotional and he'd soon be destroying a path to get to wherever the hell he wanted to go.

Go where he wanted.

Go where…?

It didn't matter.

' **That Suna girl with him. He's suppressed my influence by using memories of her upon which to meditate. He bonded with her in some manner, controlling the seal with varying emotions. But by pushing her away somewhat in his current state of mind, he regained control. By behaving like his typical numbskull tendencies, it gradually weakened.'** A wide and rather sinister toothy grin came to be on the demon fox's maw, reminding one first and foremost that it was a predator initially.

' **Yes. That's the answer. All that is required is a little…seed of uncertainty. That's all I need to escape this keep.'**

 **=X=X= (One Week Later)**

Matsuri groaned as she saw him wearing the black cloak yet again. "Damn, have you ever taken that thing off to wash it?"

"I have." He stated evenly. "I do it every night before going to bed."

Matsuri shook her head slowly to indicate disapproval. "You need more variety in your wardrobe."

"My predominant battle clothing color used to and still is orange. You should be grateful for seeing me in black."

'If only Gaara could see him now,' she thought absently, not even realizing this time that she had once again failed to administer the honorary suffix or to use his title. "That may be true, but I couldn't care less. We're going out to get something to eat."

"Why?" The question was asked with unadulterated curiosity and certainly didn't feel suitable for his current general vibe.

"We've been in the house for too long," she answered quickly.

"You can go somewhere in the morrows."

" **You've** been in the house for too long."

" **I** can go somewhere in the morning." The 'conversation' was rapidly turning into an argument of sorts with rapid-fire responses and jabs.

"Don't you want to eat something that you haven't had to slave to cook for?"

"I can use shadow clones."

"They're extensions of you and they don't want to do it."

"How do you know that I don't want to cook, thereby coming to the conclusion that they don't want to?"

"Because I know you!" She half-yelled in exasperation. "You don't want to cook!"

Naruto grumbled with a scowl. "Lucky guess." 'What does she mean 'know me'? She knows some of my character traits, and not much else past that. But then again, my life hasn't that much to offer by means of detail.' "Well, **you** can cook something."

"I don't want to." She answered in deadpan, as if she had rehearsed it. In fact, she had practiced this whole conversation in her head and had an endgame in mind. She hadn't forgotten what she was setting out to do; that is, get her Naruto back!

Where the hell did that come from? She asked herself unsurely. 'I mean 'make Naruto go back to normal.'

"Well, you can go by yourself," he folded his arms with a slightly cross look on his face.

 _~Unsafe~_

'Hmm? Unsafe? What the hell?'

 _~Unsafe~_

He stared at her momentarily. If she were on her own, then she could be vulnerable to any other potential assassins that lurked outside the compound.

"You don't wanna cook, I don't wanna cook, so we can both just go-"

"I'll come," he jutted in, interrupting her line of speech.

"Huh?" Matsuri was pleasantly surprised to see him give in to her wishes so quickly after being set so staunchly against it. She had believed that she would have had to sell the idea, but it didn't appear necessary after all. She didn't read too much into it; she had work to do. "Well, let's go then."

 **=X=X=**

"So just to be clear, to be a Sage means that you have to be completely balanced. No loving and no hating."

"That's right."

"That sucks with a capital 'F' for fu-"

"Yeah, a lot of people share your view." He answered abruptly. "But one can't deny that it's a necessary evil to be one of my stature."

"Are you God-like?"

"Of course not."

"Then what's the use?" She asked adamantly. "It's just a big waste if you're not the strongest alive."

"I could take Tsunade on with Sage mode and pull off a win." He answered in the same tone.

She stroked her head in thought. "Hmm…still not good enough."

"Two Kages at the same time. But just barely."

'That sounds like a protest. Now we're cooking with gas.' "Still not good enough. No emotion? Still sucks to be you."

Naruto inhaled deeply before exhaling the used wind in like fashion. "I had no one to love me, or me to love them. That wasn't the same for hate, as almost I knew hated me. It was a win/win for me. No one to love and everybody to hate. The village should count itself lucky that I gave up my hate…"

As his voice droned in the background, Matsuri couldn't help but grin to herself. He was complaining which was sort of a half-emotion called gripe. Also, him complaining as much as he was currently might be working as even his vocabulary was regressing somewhat. If one thing was sure, she knew that he wouldn't say 'lucky' or say 'win/win.' Rather, he would have said something along the lines of 'fortunate' or 'all-beneficial'.

"You had someone to love you. What about Hinata, I think her name was."

"It'd be prudent of you to cease and desist in that claim."

'Damn. He was cracking. What did he say to her? Is he over that already?' Matsuri asked herself in thought worriedly as she half-bit a finger in nervousness, hoping that she didn't just kill all of her progress. 'I need to try another angle.' "We're here."

Naruto stopped and looked up to see that they were in front of Ichiraku's ramen stand. "Ugh. I should've known that-"

"That what? If you could out-eat everyone else's patronage put together, it means that you love their food beyond the extreme. C'mon." She grabbed his hand at the wrist, trying to create familiarity from his previous gags. The reference was lost on him as she tried to pull him unsuccessfully as he didn't budge an inch. Perhaps if she could EVER have the strength to overpower his Sage mode to drag him, he would have realized. Sadly, both cases weren't to be. "Come inside, you damn statue!"

With a near-unnoticeable shrug, he walked in stiffly behind her and sat on a stool. After seeing him sit in it, she opted to sit on the stool next to him. His reaction was to attempt to get up and head over by one stool to create a bit more space between them but she stopped him by apprehending him by the shoulder. Sure, Naruto could have easily resisted it but he let it stop him.

"No. Stay."

"Am I an animal at your beck and call?" He scoffed.

"Sorry." 'And that's a loss of temper, I guess.' She mentally fist-pumped and pressed on. "Order you favorite. I'll pay."

"No no, it's fine. It's on me."

"Fantastic." She smirked at seeing him redden in the face at the simple reverse-psychological trap and believed that she could be able to change Naruto back to 'normal'.

There were quite a few morality issues that ran through her mind at this time. One, why was she trying to change someone's mentality simply because it didn't sit right with her. One, who's to say that his previous state was the abnormal one and all she was doing currently was 'pro anti-normal'.

"This is wrong," Matsuri whispered. "But I don't care." The lowly audible speech made its way into Naruto's ear, making him perk up trying to think of what she meant. "Naruto, you're a goddamn hypocrite."

"Excuse me?!"

"You feel nothing for ramen."

"I-"

"You feel nothing for your comrades."

"That's-" He went interrupted once more.

"Konoha's just a place to live in by your standards. It's just where you live, not a place you've fought to protect with your life, not the place you wanted to become Hokage of, it's just a location on a map." She uttered in an insistent voice and gave him no room to speak no more than a syllable at a break in speech. "You don't care for anywhere, anything or anyone."

"I care about you!"

The moment would have been a bit awkward had it not been for the fact that Matsuri picked up right where he left off. "I care about you too. But right now, you're kinda acting like an insufferable bastard who thinks he's better than everyone else!"

"I never had the notion!"

"You never said you hadn't." She continued in a serious tone. "It's like if you see someone wearing a dress you automatically assume that it's a girl. The person never said they were a guy so what were you to think? It's the same way with you!"

"I have to be a Sage! It's my duty, my responsibility, my-"

"Curse," she interjected eagerly. "Because for all that power, you don't even like it or approve of it."

"I…" He clenched the bridge of his nose with the fingers of his right hand while gazing intently at his companion. Ayame and Teuchi were nowhere to be seen, but it was easy to say that they would be in the back listening. "That's true."

"Then why would you-"

"Personal reasons."

"Fair enough," she conceded with a groan. "But you obviously still feel emotion and all that, why would you act that way?"

"It wasn't an act." He responded eerily. He let his constant Sage mode ebb away, gradually losing the facial visual characteristics.

It was then that Matsuri had never been so relieved to see blue eyes. She'd never take him for granted again.

 **Chapter's done and I'm half aspleep. Shit, I mean 'aslpeep'. I MEANT ASLEEP! I'm so damn tired, but let me know what you think. I'll answer y'll tommore. Damn, I mean 'answer y'all tomorrow. Oh boy, I'm gonna have to edit-bomb this.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **There has been some confusion about how he 'pretends' to act emotionless and let me just clarify that he** _ **does not**_ **. At first, he was emotionless, true, but let's just imagine that you're reading a fanfiction that they are supposed to fall in love. Wow! I guess that's not so hard, huh? She's got an effect on him that no one else has.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **16.**

She finished writing the report to send to the Kazekage and rolled it up before using the special seal that was given to her to secure it, ready for delivery. The whole process was confusing to her...not the actual documentation, but her actual motions and emotions were a tad conflicting.

It hadn't even been three months properly now, and Matsuri considered all that had transpired during her period of fellowship with the UzuNamikaze. She knew that she didn't love him. What frightened her was that it was possible she was in the mid-process.

She hadn't really considered Gaara...she meant Lord Kazekage Gaara, in a long time, nor did she really feel the need to try and put on a show or flair or have a need to impress in her letter. Instead, she was being 'pestered' by a certain blond who kept absently pulling on her to follow him.

She somewhat allowed him to do it while pretending not to. It was the usual 'Didn't I tell you to stop calling me dear?!' or 'Quit yanking on my arm!' She loved the attention; she actually appreciated its presence.

And Naruto even more.

'Am I falling for him? That's not a bad prospect, actually. But I can't really allow myself to go through with it. I mean, what about Gaara…'

She slipped up again.

'Ugh. I mean…' She mentally slapped herself. 'Nah. Maybe it's a sign. It probably signifies that I'm not in love with Gaara as I first thought. Well, there I go again. I keep forgetting to use his honorary suffix and his title. I think that's a case all for itself. It's not that I'm forgetting him, but Naruto keeps reminding me that all I've done was just to impress him, not to mention that I was basically putting myself up for show for him. Now quite like that, but all the things I've done to get his attention.'

Matsuri considered all the times in Suna in which she had worn some sort of provocative clothing from time to time (nothing too questionable, mind you,) and the perfumes that ate her paychecks as well as acting like nothing more than a teacher's pet or even worse, some breed of Suna fan girl.

Well, that's not too much of a shock, now that she thought about it. She needed to start bettering herself. She was a kunoichi, for crying out loud. She got **attacked** trying to leave a place of security and nearly got killed.

If Naruto hadn't been there…

Well, it was hard to imagine Naruto not being there. He was always there. At first, she thought he was being clingy, but now she realized that he was just being...him, if that made any sense.

Kinda goofy, kinda good-looking, kinda considerate, kinda affectionate, kinda sweet, kinda...well, kind, kinda…

And the list went on and on and on.

Perhaps she was hit harder than she thought.

It was a fight all by itself not to 'love' him. As attention grabbing as he was most of the time, perhaps that in and of itself was the reason. By being the 'only' male around for so much of her time, she naturally gravitated to him. She could wish that was the case, but no one else in her village or in the Leaf had caught her eye and she was sure she hadn't caught theirs. She wasn't all that 'special' by ways of attractiveness like having extremely defined body contours, big 'ass-ets', breast size… **(1)**

In fact, Ittetsu had once told her that she was very plain-looking. It didn't hurt her all that much; in fact, she herself thought it to be true and was in reluctant agreement. Hence why she had to 'spruce herself up', so to speak.

She had always been ignored in that same sense, in favor of the more attractive girls of her village. Being ignored wasn't a pleasant factor, and one she and Naruto could relate to.

How deep-seated was her relationship to her host, she had no idea. In any case, she was only a friend; besides, she hadn't fully come to terms that she might be infatuated with him, and even if she did, it'd never work.

Instead of it being some predictable story of a beauty and a beast, it was rather another story of boring/plain and the handsome-demon. She had nothing to offer and he was...he was…

The jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, the son of Minato Namikaze the fourth Hokage, one of the remains of the Uzumaki bloodline/clan and not to mention the last but not least-...A Sage.

She had had a lot of time to read a few books about the particular mode/title during when Naruto was in his 'phase' of being in said state.. To be a Sage would be yes, a powerful person, both by leadership and might, but also to be a person of having...well, all that Naruto had described himself to be.

He hadn't lied, he hadn't faked, he hadn't bluffed. When he had first started out acting the way he was, he was completely genuine. By the end of a total of eight days, he was trying to keep up an effort to remain as such but by then it had become something of a facade, one that she took pleasure of knowing she broke.

Who's to say that he wouldn't fall back in such a state? What if it were chronic?

…

…

…

It had happened again. It lasted for forty-eight hours.

…

…

…

It happened again two weeks later. It lasted for two hours.

…

…

…

It happened again in ten days. It lasted for three damn weeks. By then, she had grown somewhat attention starved and had to do some things...certain kinds of things.

Not nasty things, questionable things or bad things. Well, they were for a good cause, so it was a good thing...right?

Not entirely.

If he had a responsibility of a Sage, wouldn't it make her a bad person by 'corrupting' him to have emotions? Wasn't it also a bad thing because causing him to have emotions was to assuage her own selfish needs? Matsuri no longer had herself to consider; yes, she was well off, being in a fancy house, not having to worry about food (fancy meals were guaranteed), money….

'I'm a friend, not a gold-digger!' Matsuri told herself fiercely as she gazed through the window at the garden. 'He offered me this place, I never asked for it.'

She certainly didn't refuse it. She was therefore a sort-of victim to her own argument of not saying what one meant, or they'll be assumptions.

She was so confused.

She was just a plain, orphan girl who used to have a crush on the Kazekage and just came to terms about having a growing one on a new person (or it's that he was just growing on her, she couldn't really tell. These were new waters for her.) A person who was basically everything she was not. As previously thought and still unchanged, he had status, class, money, charisma, power and basically a fun-loving guy. His reoccurring bouts of being a full Sage weren't a blemish; rather, they were just a growing part of who he was. If she couldn't accept that part of him, who was he to accept any part of who SHE was?

Matsuri moved away from the window to cease her admiring of the garden. They were just reminding her that she was merely a hewed rock with some slight refinements.

 **=X=X=**

Naruto wondered how the girl seemed so withdrawn. He missed her trying to get him to leave the house/mansion, to go out and well...socialize, for lack of a better word. She became rather lackadaisical and it couldn't be healthy. Well, not mentally. She was in rather terrific physical shape but she could use some improvement…

Naruto had an idea.

"Oi Matsuri! Wanna train with me?"

"Nah. I'm busy. Maybe next time."

"Wanna train with me?"

"Just because you ask me again doesn't mean that-"

This is the next time," he insisted. "It's the follow-up in a series; therefore, it's the next time." He was slightly pleased to see her smile a bit but it fell when she responded by saying that her answer was a 'maybe' the first time. It could be a 'no', she explained.

"Are you trying to use psychology on me?"

"I beat the Hyuuga clan head with parapsychology. Don't get confident in what you did the first time," the blond answered with a self-satisfied smirk. "Besides,. If you don't come, I'll drag you to training."

"Even if you did, nothing guarantees that I'd stay, or even do anything if I did."

The UzuNamikaze frowned deeply, making the girl fret a bit. "Is that so…?"

"Yeah." Her voice wavered a bit, wondering what he was up to.

"I'm going to remove your name out of the registry," he deadpanned before walking away from where she lied back down on her bed with the pillow on her face.

At first, she was like 'who cares', but that was before her heart leapt into her throat, suddenly feeling exceedingly worried and heaved the pillow off of her face "Registry?! The blood registry?! No!"

She practically saw bright lights swimming in her vision as she worried. "Oh no, oh no no no!" She was out of her bed like a bullet and the door in similar fashion. Slamming her bedroom door closed, she sprinted through the upper levels of the house to the living room where all the rooms converged.

And where the main exit was.

She was at the upper banister when she saw him in the living room below, walking purposefully to the door. In her panic, she swung her legs over the barricade, pushed off and allowed herself to fall to the ground, landing perfectly on the balls of her feet. He had just barely turned around to acknowledge the sound when she dived over the couch and tackled him at the waist, knocking his air out of him.

His next response was that to throw her off through the space of the back of the couch, the darned thing flipping it over her like a lid as he got back to his feet, dusting himself off dramatically. 'Tsk tsk."

The couch was thrown aside and Naruto found himself with the rope of a jōhyō hooked around his right ankle and pulled savagely, drawing blood and tipping him unto his backside before the jōhyō was retracted by a smug kunoichi who hid behind the couch.

Naruto growled in frustration and leapt to his feet and hefted the couch and throwing it aside, revealing her location. She was immediately the victim of a **Daitoppa** that took her off of the ground and blew her flat against the far wall where she struck her head rather painfully.

Matsuri ignored the crushing externally caused head-ache in favor of advancing after the retreating blond. He had just opened the door towards him when she kicked it closed with a thrusting stomp kick.

She barely took note of the fact that they were barefooted as she promptly threw a punch to his neck but he knocked it away with a chop; in the same moment, he hooked the crook of his foot around her standing one and pulled it towards her, pushing her away from him with his other hand.

Smack dead-center of her cleavage.

She didn't take notice of it right away as she went with force of his push and rolled backwards over her back and the lateral side of her arm and stood again in one smooth motion. He was now undeterred on his way out the door but to anyone who was on the outside looking in, they would have seen a hand that grasped him by the collar and yanked him back inside. After that, the sounds of grunts became plainly audible the house actually shook as tremors were obvious to feel even in the ground.

A lengthy silence reigned before it was broken by the girl in the house screaming, and the 'man' was yelling in effort, and then…

…

…

And then...

Naruto crashed through a window upstairs with a crash and shattering of broken glass as it was apparent he had gone through while it was still closed. His upper torso was completely shirtless and as a result his chest and gut suffered cuts from the glass. His face had been saved by the sacrifice of his arms, which while they bled badly, they were rapidly healing.

Matsuri herself at the broken window and leapt out after him, landing unsteadily but still managed to execute a flawless roll to negate falling impact.

"Naruto, are you crazy?!"

"No," came the cool response. "I'm taking initiative so you can stop taking life for granted."

And then he was off again.

She sprinted after the blond who took off in the direction of the registry building and could only feel the creeping horror of realizing the truth (again) that his speed far eclipsed hers. She needed to do something radical to slow him down, not quite like trying to grab at him and only ended up with his shirt being practically ripped off. How she managed to capture that trophy, she had no idea.

And the distance between them wasn't necessarily closing, but the one between them and the registry building was, so…

She unraveled her jōhyō from around her fist where she had woven it and hurled it a foot or two off to his left. As soon as the dart portion of the weapon had passed him, she tugged on it fiercely to the right, allowing it cut off his progress at the waist as a sort of trip wire. However, while it swung around him, She had a split second to decide where she wanted the spear-end to go as it swung around him. One, either to continue to try tying him up, or to allow the dart to pierce his flesh and be liable to hurt him in some woebegone area. The particular area just so happened to be the base of the spine and was certain to stop him, or even kill him if that so much as…

Time slowed as the window of opportunity was about to pass her. However, the thought of her actually being responsible of hurting him horribly or even killing him made her sick to her stomach.

And yet, the dart made its way into the forbidden area. In a whirlwind blur of events, she found herself standing beside his bed in the hospital, staring down at the still body that lay there.

Thankfully, it wasn't his corpse. But was 'thankful' the correct phrase to coin the situation?

He was paralyzed from the waist down, and she just stood there watching him stare at her with his magnificent blues while the Hokage herself was yelling at her, Shizune frowning like a thunderstorm, friends and comrades outside the door clamoring for her head and other such 'little' things fading into the background.

Tears welled up in her eyes in regret as her eyes scanned his form that lay there pitifully. The very person who boasted that he could take on a kage and pull off a win had lost the ability of locomotion. He'd be in a wheelchair or bed permanently and waste away for life.

Thankful? As if.

"Naruto, I-"

She was cut off by his wheezing response. "It's fine."

"But-!"

"It's fine. Besides," he raised his right arm in an effort to show off prowess. "I can still arm wrestle you and win. That's something, right? I can beat the strongest girl I know at something."

Tears ran heavily now, distorting her vision and making everything appear like a runny water-color painting. "I'm not supposed to try and hurt the person I lo-"

"You loathe him?!" The voice of Tsunade chimed in again at full volume. It was all that occupied her hearing and it was at that point she felt something reminiscent of an earthquake.

In her forehead.

Her soul sallied forth out of her flesh into an abyss of black that twisted and churned with her at the focal point, doing all it could to destroy her infinitesimally. It was succeeding, and as she felt herself being ripped apart, her head descended below the surface of the dark essence. She could barely gurgle the words:

"-Love-. I meant _'love'_."

And with that, she started awake in her bed. In her woes, she had tangled herself up in sheets that hadn't been strewn across the ground at the foot of her bed. Kicking off those that were still on her, she leaned her legs down and winced as she felt bruises here and there throughout her body. Sweat was also obvious to notice, as it covered her whole body in a perspiring sheen. She struggled to use her higher thought process to figure out what just transpired but ended up being more and more confused the more and more she used it.

She went through the motions mechanically, re-sheeting, spreading her bed; then taking a shower and other such actions of personal hygiene. Finally pulling on a bra with her merino and knee-length tights, she strolled into the kitchen, giving Naruto a start as he was staring at his hand intently and flexing the palm, as if he were recollecting a memory of grasping something. When he saw her presence, he sojourned the deed and hailed her a tad nervously. "Mornin' Matsuri."

"Good morning, Naruto." She sat at the table and as soon as she did, he had a plate of food in front of her. In the same breath, he was also seated beside her and his food dished up as well.

"Do you want to grace the food this morning?"

"Nah. You do it. I'm kinda having a bit of an episode," came her curt and succinct reply.

He obligated her and shortly thereafter, he tried to pick up a conversation. "Well, didn't know you'd take me so seriously. I only wanted you to train with me. At least I healed overnight but I can still see some bruises on you."

"Yeah, you didn't take it easy on me." Bite food, chew, swallow.

Chew, swallow. "Well, I kinda expected you to try and rope me up in the end, but you nearly hogtied me. If I hadn't cut my way out, I think you would've left me out there still."

She smiled at this, now remembering that she had chosen to tie him. "Well, I wouldn't have. I guess you don't know me as well as I do you."

He smiled too when he saw hers. "You're the strongest girl I know. Does that count?"

That statement was a bit eerie. In a bit of a show, Matsuri pinched herself hard and still found herself eating breakfast. This left Naruto wondering why she did that.

"Wazzat for?"

"Just making sure I wasn't dreaming. Oh boy." She shakily returned to her breakfast, slightly unsettling the rising good mood.

"Okaaayyy…" He trailed off as he began staring at his hand again absently. She took notice of this and smirked a bit.

"Perve."

"Who, me?!" He quit immediately and blushed. "No, ma'am."

Well, it was good to know that he 'loved' even **one** part of her. On second thought, make that **two things**.

"Well, after breakfast, help me clean and fix what we broke yesterday."

"Alright, Naruto-kun."

"Fantastic." He got up and went to the fridge to get himself a glass of orange juice. It was a good thing he hadn't started drinking it yet when he realized that she had just used a typically affectionate suffix; otherwise, he might've done a spit-take. "Wait…what?"

 **1- I'm changing her cup size. It's now a B. By the time you read this, I'll have made the proper adjustment in that...particular chapter.**

 **Well, I dropped several bombs with that scene, not to mention I made this fic go from friendship to budding romance for Matsuri so quickly it could have ignited something on fire. The time was a bit warped in this chapter but now it has been at least four and a half months. As for ignite? Hmm…sounds like a possible jutsu name I can use later. Yeah…**

 **Well, I'm starting to ramble. Later everyone. No, no, I mean the latin phrase for 'goodbye everyone'.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**

 **(That's more like it.)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Lassoed With a Rope-Dart**

 **Well, I'm alive, y'all. I found some time to type so…I did. I won't delay, just R and R. Time is limited.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **17.**

"So…Naruto-kun, huh?"

She didn't even look up as she swept the glass into the dustpan. She kept her head and face angled straight, lest he see her slightly reddening face. "…Yeah. Something wrong?"

He did a bit of a double-take. "N-…no. It's just that…well…"

She could hear him rambling, but didn't put a stop to it. In fact, she was afraid to. Afraid that he didn't like it. Afraid that he didn't accept it. Afraid that he didn't accept _her._

"What? You don't want me to use the suffix?" She asked in a tone that was the polar opposite of how she was feeling. Matsuri could hardly believe how easy her voice came from rapture in her chest but yet it seemed that her aloof-like tone was putting her host on edge, the very same whose home she was helping to clean, reasons being that it was nigh trashed because of their rough-'n'-tumble the day before.

Just recalling it brought the hint of a smile to her face, but from Naruto's perspective, it gave her a smug look and a bit…coy. Sexy, even.

Not that he'd admit it.

"The suffix is fine," he admitted. "It's just that I didn't expect it, that's all…"

"Why wouldn't you expect it from me?" Her smile fell as did her countenance, and his emotions mirrored the action. In fact, it was starting to feel like he was being put on the spot for no good reason; he felt almost shameless for even questioning it. He even began to consider if he actually had a problem with her saying it, but instead, he had a problem with himself.

He…just couldn't lie to her…he decided to tell the truth. Just looking at Matsuri's face, that…bonny face of hers, and her limpid eyes that came accompanied by stark eyelashes that highlighted an endearing face. It was the kind of face that could express any kind of emotion, any time. She had him fearing her, she had him fretting for her, she had him loving her-

He sighed deeply. He had come to terms about that, having inkling that he _might_ have developed a love interest in her, and that brought up a lot of confusion…and if there was one thing he hated, it was being confused. It made him feel weak, lesser of himself…like how he used to be when he was younger. On one hand, if he loved her, then it would be unfair to Hinata, who professed to have loved him for most of their lives; pity she hadn't had the confidence to tell him before his training trip. Besides that, he wasn't allowed to love, due to his part of being a sage. That in itself wasn't fair. That is, for him to even fall in love, and when it happened, it was with the 'wrong girl'. That raised a lot of questions on his end, and he was sure that not even he had all the answers. Hell, he wondered that…no, Jiraiya probably didn't even have a clue. Perhaps some 'higher being' dictating who he should fall in love with.

'Hold on…wrong girl? Is it even fair of me to class Matsuri like that?' He was sure that he had no right. As a matter of fact, as sure as night followed day.

On the outside, Matsuri patiently waited for his answer, but on the inside, she feared what he would say. She had an idea what, but didn't quite know how to phrase it into words. 'Hmph. I guess I was right. He **doesn't** like me in _that_ way.'

She turned to resume her task of cleaning, but as she turned, he grabbed her by the shoulder to halt her for a moment. Instead, she shrugged him off and left the room, leaving a befuddled young man behind with an unanswered question, and even more unasked.

…

…

…

"What am I doing wrong? Did I do something? Is the problem…me?" Naruto finished the tidying of the entire household while Matsuri had left the property since that mid-morning. "What am I doing? I'm just…going through the motions. She's… Matsuri, for Kami's sake. Why her?"

He didn't have a problem with, per se. What he meant to ask was, 'why me'.

He was a sage. He wasn't allowed to feel emotions. They hindered better judgement. To be impartial, almost like his father who sacrificed himself and his family in general, just to save the village. None of that 'save your family or your village' type of crap that usually had people choosing family instead of hundreds and thousands of people they didn't know. That was what it meant to be a Sage; to choose the greater good, rather than benefits for yourself.

To be self-sacrificial for the benefit of others.

He was a final authoritative figure who had final say, wielded great power, had all the financial backbone he'd ever need and he had never quite felt so…so…lonely.

 **"** **That's right,"** the Kyuubi said. **"Only I, for hate to be your one and only comforter."**

Naruto had no hesitation to cut the mental link wasn't even amused when he felt the great Kitsune's ranting on the other end. It used to be ignored, but now…

"It's always Matsuri, Matsuri, Matsuri…" He muttered almost angrily. "Life was just going on real easy and simple without her around. Just be Naruto plain-Uzumaki, have a thousand meals (in his arm seals) to pick from, wear his sage cloak whenever he wanted, just be…a Sage.

But with her around, it was another kind of simple. He could temporarily forget his duties, act the kid again like he used to by doing free-running from mobs, play a few pranks (on Matsuri, that is,) and basically, just enjoy life.

He needed to break things down.

One, he hated being alone right now.

Two, he appreciated her more just for being around, rather than having never met her.

Three, he wasn't fully sure if he even wanted to continue being a Sage anymore.

Four, Matsuri was a real eye-opener; both literally and figuratively.

Five, he loved the Suna Kunoichi, but was entertaining doubts that it might be a passing interest/fad, or even worse, just an infatuation stemming from close interaction that was both voluntary and involuntary.

The Uzu-Namikaze needed someone to talk to. Of course, Matsuri kept coming to mind but he couldn't; after all, she **was** the topic. That'd be no good.

Who was in the village he could talk to?

He mentally ran through his memory banks and came up nil in his efforts. Well, there was one person who might (Read: Extremely slim chance) be able to help him with some advice, but that was so far-fetched, he nearly kicked his own ass for even considering the idea.

 **=X=X= (Early Next Morning)**

"I'll be frank. I need to get out of the village for a little bit."

"Do you want something violent?"

"Does it take place in Suna? If so, then yes."

Tsunade shrugged. "Alright. On one condition…"

"What's that?" The Sage did not like where this might take him.

"I want a tour of that damn house. It must be really fancy for you to stay cooped up in there for so long."

Naruto sighed. "Fine. When I get back, I'll tour you around. But if the village is suddenly bawling for a Rokudaime, it's not on my head."

"I'm a Hokage!" The blonde woman grinned. "I can take of myself!"

Naruto eyed the saki bottles that littered her table and sweat-dropped. "I never doubted that for a second. What's the mission?" 'Your liver alone might be ready to give out, not just from the seals that could kill you.'

"Hmm…" The Senju got up from around her table and perused around another adjacent table through some folders. "I want this scroll personally hand-delivered to Kazekage Gaara of the Sand. I can trust you with that responsibility, can I?"

On the inside, the teen was doing cartwheels at the perfect opportunity to speak to the very person he needed to find, but on the outside, he remained nonchalant. "Meh, I think I can handle it."

 **=X=X= (One Senjutsu-enhanced run later, late afternoon)**

"Do you know how much security I had to go through just to get here? I mean, I'm supposed to be more renowned than that Ero-sensei of mine by now. I mastered senjutsu, for Kami's sake!"

"It's just a precaution. My veto can only go so far. Now...why are you here, Naruto?"

"Just playing the part of a postman," The UzuNamikaze answered. "I think the Hokage wrote it out to you." He handed the scroll over to Gaara, and the red-haired Kage took it from in an easy manner using sand manipulation. Naruto scoffed a bit, muttering something about 'show-offs'.

"Me?" Gaara intoned. "What about you? The last time you were here, you were boasting about how you can kill a man without even touching him using taijutsu."

"It's not as if I was lying," the fellow Jinchuriki replied eagerly, "one time, I-"

"Naruto…" Gaara interrupted. "Why are you here? You've always said that you hated being used as a 'messenger boy'."

The blond sighed. "That obvious, huh? I want some…advice."

"Please be frank. To be honest with you," Gaara began, "what we're doing feels like we're in some sort of work of fiction that's beginning to feel watered down. It's starting to get boring."

"Work of fiction, huh?" Naruto queried. "You're right. Fine, I'll just tell you. I think I might have fallen for-"

"Matsuri?" The Kazekage interrupted. "I had a feeling. Besides, if you decided to just look _over_ at the very premise, it was basically being advertised."

"Really?" The UzuNamikaze blurted with a surprised look. "Well…damn. How does that make you feel?"

"As much as I'm tempted to play the part of an aggressive elder brother, instead, I'll just say that it's between you and her; it's none of my business."

"Don't you have anything more deep-seated you can tell me, oh wise one?" Naruto asked with a growing seat-drop. "You started talking like an old man a long time now, but I don't like talking to old men, just someone who's close to my age with the sagacity that comes with age."

"I haven't had the experience. How can I give advice on that? Have you forgotten that I used to kill people just because they were probably thinking I was mental?"

"Doesn't that mean that you were?"

"I sense 'watering down' because of a topic that's irrelevant to what the whole thing is about." The Wind Shadow reminded.

Naruto merely sighed. "Whatever. So I'm infatuated with her. So what happens now, huh?"

"You should tell her."

Naruto chuckled bitterly. "I botched that. While not to full-blown proportions you might see or read of elsewhere, I basically had a problem with her using an affectionate suffix with my name."

"Sounds like you do."

"I don't!" The Sage exclaimed. "It's actually…me not being able to call _her_ that."

Gaara nodded his head slowly as if he understood. This went on for a while until Naruto shook his head. "You don't have a clue why, do you?"

"Not even one."

"I'm a Sage. That's why."

"You don't act like one," Gaara said pointedly.

"I know. But I have to. It's like I'm a criminal…every time I continue to make a transgression, I just make things worse and worse and worse. You can get away with small things, but all of that just crops up until one day you're on trial."

"What's the penalty?"

"Now that I'm a Sage, I have to keep my emotions in check or the Kyuubi can escape. Don't ask why. It's a bit of a secret that not even the person dictating our lives can divulge. Whatever his name is."

"Kami?" Gaara asked unsurely.

"Don't think so. If he were, he'd be able to…" Naruto shivered. "I'd hate to think about it. But enough of that. What do I do?"

Privy to his own thoughts, the redhead thought that perhaps that he really should threaten Naruto after all. He soon decided against it, believing that it would be too predictable. "So you like her enough to the point of infatuation-"

"I did call it that, because I don't want to go as far as to call it 'love'," Naruto interjected. "Hmm...what kind of synonym can I use?"

Gaara held up his hand. "So you're fond of her."

"Good one. Hai, I am."

"You see no one else in that fashion?"

"Nope."

Gaara found a distraction in unravelling the scroll to begin reading it. He betrayed no emotion as he read it; Naruto wouldn't have an idea as to what it was saying even if he had been making an effort to. It was silent as the two jinchuriki sat quietly, both lost in thought; that is, until the more talkative of the two broke it. "Well, what am I going to do?"

"Tell her that you love-"

"Too strong." Naruto cut across resolutely.

"Ah," Gaara replied with a small smirk. "Too strong a word. Tell her that you're keen on her. It's true, isn't it?"

"It is. And after I tell her that, what next?"

"Perhaps you should find out about how she feels about you first, before you talk to her about this." Gaara monotone as he kept on reading. "If she sees you as a friend, close friend, Kami-forbid, a **brother**. That's how Temari-neechan gets rid of her suitors besides Shikamaru. She calls them _brotherly_. She doesn't really mean it, but it gets the job done. Lets them down without any hope of actually trying again in an effort to succeed."

"..." Naruto looked glum for a second, and Gaara took it as a sign that he had started to fret that this was a potential circumstance.

"Or a close friend. I'm sure you've pissed her off on multiple occasions. How did she react? If she was scolding, you're in trouble."

"Nah. She never scolded. She was cool. In fact, she's a lot like me!" Naruto grinned widely at this, but Gaara could only shake his head.

"That she is. You two were made for each other, even considering that you both are denizens of two different nations, distant from each other. I wonder who the hell could have thought of that pairing?"

"Kami?"

"Perhaps a member of Kami's court requested it." Gaara chuckled uncharacteristically before clearing his throat. "In any case, you're going to tell her, and-"

"What if she doesn't feel that way?" Naruto got out of his seat so quickly that the crook behind his knees sent the chair flying to the far wall where it smashed into pieces. Gaara wasn't even nonplussed but guards came in to check up on them. Naruto was still in his moment, but the Wind Shadow waved them back out again.

"I...can't believe that I'm entertaining this. I'm a Sage, for Kami's sake!" Naruto yelled. "I gotta...where the hell's my black cloak, I gotta meditate-"

"Naruto, get a grip on yourself." 'Black cloak?' "Has this been going on a long time?"

"Months now."

Gaara raised his eyebrow. "How many?"

"It started eight months ago."

"Has she been in Konoha with you that long?"

"..." Naruto gazed at his friend. "Come to think of it, have you sorted out your council yet? It's been long enough, hasn't it?"

"I've dealt with all of them two months ago. To be honest, it slipped my mind to let Matsuri know she can come back home. In fact..." Gaara held out the scroll he had been reading. "This letter is actually from her. It was in fact this letter that reminded me."

Naruto took the letter from him and began speed-reading it. After completing it, he read through twice more slowly. "She's...coming back to Suna. She-"

"Hai," Gaara answered. "So you're going to have to tell her. She apparently wants to come back home."

The blond's face fell when he heard that. To Gaara, it almost looked as if Naruto wanted to cry or something of the like but thankfully, it didn't come to that. "I...want to tell her. But I can't. I have to forget about her. I don't know what to do. I want to tell her of my feelings, but as a Sage, I'm not even supposed to even have feelings for her."

"It seems you have an Ultimatum." 'Huh, why does that feel like a reference?' Gaara became puzzled but he shook it off. "You'll have to choose. On one hand, power, influence, wisdom and charisma is offered, even to the extent of being eligible for Hokage, but no emotions, especially one you've sought after in others for you, particularly Matsuri. On the other hand, you lose all the things afforded with Sagacity, for a **chance** that she may become your significant other, may lose eligibility to become Hokage, and most likely accidentally release your tailed beast in the compromise."

"Thanks for making it simple for anyone to understand the stakes," Naruto mumbled. "It's a tough one, and I can't even say 'I'll sleep on it', or 'I'll meditate' because either will influence my decision to either way. I need...time?"

"Time?" Gaara perked up somewhat. "Perhaps I could tell her that she can return in a month."

"Not nearly enough, but it will have to do," the UzuNamikaze mumbled. "I...I don't know what to do..."

"Well, I'll write a return letter."

"Will you tell her how I feel-"

"Of course not," Gaara retorted in his quiet way. "Just to tell her that she may return in a month, using the excuse that she can use it to get herself in order."

"Thanks a lot, Gaara." He came closer and shook his fellow Jinchuriki's hand. "I can't thank you enough."

"Pay for the chair you broke."

The blond stared at the redhead dumbly before the Kazekage continued. "That was a joke."

"Oh. 'Cause I know you have the coin to get many more and all. Still, I wonder why Matsuri wants to leave. She's the one who suggested it?"

"Yes. Maybe she's trying to get away from you."

"Really?" Naruto looked so hurt that Gaara hurried to amend his gaff.

"That was a joke, Naruto," the other tried to play it off. Naruto put on a show as if he found it funny, but Gaara could tell that the remark had hurt him, and in all actuality, was the Kazekage thinking aloud. Without further ado, he told Naruto to go walk a bit while he wrote the letter.

He wrote the letter telling her when to return...among other things.

 **That's it.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Lassoed with a Rope Dart**

 **It's been a while. Sorry for the wait. In any case, let's get on with it, shall we?**

 **Disclaimer: I own the world, and everything therein, including Naruto…damn it, I'm not God. I'm just a mortal who, like everyone else, wishes to own something big, and gets carried away when singing along to Rock music. Even the scream-singing parts for Metal music.**

 **Caution: There's an instance of swearing. By continuing reading, you indicate that you're fine with that.**

 **18.**

Naruto handed Matsuri the letter. "Here you go, Matsuri. Express delivery."

She snatched the letter from his lingering hand, raising a stink-eye at the same time. "Did you try to read this?"

"No." 'I didn't have to. Gaara did tell me what he was going to write, after all,' he said the last in his thoughts.

"Oh." Immediately, she felt miserable. It felt like she was trying to find fault with him, trying to find a reason why she would want to leave. But there was none. So here she was, trying to find fault in a guy she had reason to believe that didn't have any, a reason to give Gaara why she wanted to come home.

But she loved it here. She loved having to share a household with a guy like Naruto. She loved being in a village that had perfect weather. She loved having 'girlfriends' like Sakura and Ino and even Hinata to talk to, although the last took some time before she came around to the idea. 'Homesick for home' as she claimed in her letter? Not in the least. Perhaps a visit to Suna two or three times a year would be fine, but that was it. She wouldn't mind staying in Konoha…she wouldn't mind staying with _him_.

But he had no room for her. Not in his house, for he had plenty of that and was willing to share. But not where it mattered. Not in his heart.

"Matsuri?" Naruto studied the girl who stood before him. She was a quarter foot shorter than him but even the bit of diminutiveness made her shrink under his gaze, like a certain Hyuuga used to do for the very same blond. "Have you been _crying_?"

She had been crying in his absence, crying for what she wished they could share, but of course she couldn't tell him **that**! She hadn't gone soft! She was a rough rock! A tough one, too!

"I wasn't crying!"

"Why couldn't you tell me calmly?' He frowned deeply, sensing the lie. "Why were you crying?" He cared for her deeply and wouldn't wish for even a gust of wind to blow on her too strongly.

"I said that I wasn't!" She kept fighting it, although she didn't want to.

"Fine," he looked away. "I'll accept your lie and pretend to believe it. You _weren't_ crying. Can you tell me why you've been so _happy_ while I wasn't here?"

Great. He wasn't leaking any sarcasm or condescension in his voice, but he said it in such a manner that indicated that he was confused as to why she was lying, and it was pathetic-sounding. Both him **and** her. He was actually giving a damn and telling her that although he was aware of the obvious lie, he wanted her to let him in regardless. He cared.

"I'm...fine," she said at last, although she couldn't look him in the eyes. "Thanks for asking."

"If I'm bothering you and you want to be alone, I can..." Naruto started backpedalling while pointing a thumb over his shoulder, "leave you alone."

"No!" She raised both of her hands to assist her vehement plea. "Please stay." As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt like kicking herself. Was this what she was reduced to now? Practically begging a guy to stay with her? God, she needed to get out more.

"We can stay inside, go out, anything you'd like. Whaddya say? We'll do anything you want." Naruto was eager to please, but he had his own reasons why. Perhaps he could even convince her to stay longer by making her think that staying in Konoha was marginally better. Staying with **him**.

"I don't know what I want," she mumbled. 'I know _who_ , though. That sounds a bit perverted, but who gives a damn.'

"I know what we can do!"

 **=X=X=**

 **(1)** "Eat ice-cream?" Matsuri deadpanned the question. "Really?"

"Some things never leave you!" He took up a plastic cup that was nearly qualified to be a bowl. "Which flavour?"

She only stared at him, making him raise an eyebrow. "What? Lactose intolerant? Don't like ice-cream? Afraid it'll go to your hips?"

"No, no and...maybe," she admitted the last. "But ice cream?"

"Are you saying that you don't want any?" He reached into the deep freeze refrigerator and scooped up a helping of orange-pineapple. "Last call, or you're going to have to sit somewhere and watch me eat this. You won't like it." 'I won't like it either. Doesn't she want to do this? We're usually so much alike.'

She finally relented after some childlike badgering. "Fine. Give me something with chocolate in it. Chocolate or nothing!"

"You got it." Seals were everywhere in the kitchen, stocked with all kinds of food, closets filled with all kinds of clothes, everything that was stocked with everything plus accessories. It was as if the household was made to survive several several apocalypses...and nuclear winters.

Wordlessly, he scooped up chocolate into her container first, then cookies and cream after. Setting it on the table, he pulled extras and additions with extravagance, making a show as he topped her ice-cream with chocolate syrup, nuts and a candy black-cherry.

"Wow..." she breathed out. "That has to be the best looking thing I've ever seen!"

"The show?" He asked eagerly.

"The what? Hell no, I'm talking about the ice-cream itself! Give it here, quick!" Her eyes were of an impossible size, and he couldn't help but wonder how she must've grown. Being raised on little made her appreciate every little thing, and he was no different. He laughed merrily.

"Here you go!" He handed to her, and she snatched it from him greedily. "Weren't you concerned for your hips not two minutes ago?"

"What hips?" She asked back.

"Those lovely ones right there..." he trailed off in mortification as her eyes widened where she saw where he was looking at. Without preamble, he shovelled an ample amount of his ice cream in his mouth and pretended to choke and moan about cramps in his teeth.

"What was that?" She heard him. He heard himself. For Kami's sakes, she wanted to hear that again, he'd better-

"*Gh* I ate too much at once. I was even getting my teeth frozen." He defended.

"Smooth save, suave speaker," she replied in sing-song, although she felt disappointed. They were alone, so, why not just continue the line? Was he embarrassed? "I'm heading to the living room. Coming?" As she walked out of the room ahead of him, she could feel his eyes on her and added a little swaying swagger as she walked in a manner she thought was alluring. She could hear him making choking sounds again, and smiled to herself. Naruto was back.

Still wondering if the situation was safe, he followed her and soon, they were sitting next to each other on the sofa. As they ate in silence, Naruto searched and searched and searched himself for a good conversation topic. He failed miserably, and knew that if he tried to start one, it would turn out awkward and weird, he'd make a fool of himself, maybe bumble and burst into spontaneous combustion or-

"You know that I've been talking to Hinata? For a girl that just up and claimed that she loved you in front of every one of your…fellow 'Rookie Nine' or however that goes, I haven't seen you try to 'get with her', if you know what I mean."

"I haven't. I let her down gently." Naruto started to sweat a bit, although he was eating a frozen dessert in a cool room. It was a sense of knowing where this topic was going, and he'd have to answer all if he wanted the best outcome. But to answer truthfully when they came?

"Why'd you do that?" She looked up and he immediately had to look away from her piercing gaze. For eyes he loved looking into, right now, he was afraid to stand stalwart against it. "She's nice."

"Nice doesn't just cut it. I told her that I'm just not the right guy for her."

"You could learn to love her. She's nice, pretty, has a rich family, practically has a princess status here and you…you're almost like her counterpart…but with better, erm, everything else."

"Is that a backward compliment, or are you giving me your blessing to date her?" He raised an eyebrow before going back to his ice cream.

"I'm asking why you two didn't," Matsuri defended. "You two would have been good for each other. Now she'll have to settle for someone less. The same thing goes for you too."

"I don't think lesser of people," he replied demurely. "Even my jinchuriki status…I'm basically cursed, so I can't think lesser of people."

Her eyes softened. "You think lowly of yourself? Guess that's another thing we have in common."

"You're not the one who's burdened. I bet that you could 'get' with any guy you wanted." In his mind, he felt like he was giving her away to some nameless guy in the future, but hoped that she'd refuse. But would that be fair? To tell her to stay single, just because he couldn't be with her? That wasn't fair, was it? Besides, who was he to tell her that?

"Really? Me?" She asked, amazed. In this, she half-forgot her frozen treat and it started to melt. "I can't even measure up to some of the civilians and kunoichis that chase after you the minute you leave the compound?"

Deciding to file away for later the kind of competition she was using as a measuring stick, he answered what had been his first point. "Let's start with that. You weren't selling yourself short; you're just being _humble_. You're _fit_ ; we've gone out running how many times and without using any kinds of enhancements, outpaced and outmatched anyone who've come after us. You're _tenacious_ ; you ran out of chakra and risked death just to sense for me and you crawled on hands on knees right to my door. You're _contrite_. It was basically your way of punishing yourself like a penance for a fault, a fault that think was worth punishment."

"Naruto-" She tried to interrupt.

"No, no, let me finish," he continued. "I know you _think_ that you did this just to get a place to sleep, but you meant that apology. I'm a bit of an empath whether I have sage mode on or not, so I could sense the sincerity. You think you can't measure up to some of those so-called gorgeous people? You're pretty."

Her face lit up.

"No, scratch that." He stated.

Predictably, her face fell.

"You're _beautiful_."

Her face contorted into a mixture of shock, happiness, an impartial reddening and pleasant surprise. She didn't have to urge him to continue, because that he did. Certainly so.

"You're all natural, and that's the way I love it. They have to cake on makeup and it's like putting a nose ring on the snout of a **hog**. What good is the makeup if they're unsightly on the outside, or even worse, disgusting on the inside? But not you. Every time I've seen you try to do some shopping, you just walk right past beauty salons like it's-"

"A waste of money." She finished. "I mean, a pampering at a spa is nice, but I can't really see why people would try to redo everything on their face at a salon just short of corrective surgery. And then if rain falls…meh…" She put her cup of dessert down on a nearby table and got over closer to him, where she promptly hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Naruto."

"Anything for you, Matsuri-chan," he whispered. Hearing that for the first time, her heart swelled with happiness, knowing that it would be safe to use the 'kun' suffix with him. He was telling her that it was fine, by setting the example. But one thing begged for an answer…

"You were following me?" Matsuri asked in a bewildered tone.

"Eh heh heh," he chuckled nervously. "I was…making sure that none of those hags tried to do anything to you." He hoped that she'd buy it. She did.

"Naruto-kun, I'm not a porcelain-doll," she was about to bump his shoulder, but instead rested her hand on his. "I'm only a **rock**."

The significance of this gesture was not lost on him. They weren't just friends anymore. At the very least, they were close friends…at the very, very least. It would be easy to convert that into what he hoped, but he still had misgivings about what the future held. The pros and cons to continue what he hoped they could share, versus the ones if he didn't. His wants and needs were completely different, and he wanted **her**.

"So, what was that about the kind of people you couldn't measure up to?" He treaded carefully, and hoped that if worse came worst, he could pull it off as a joke. " _Your_ competition for **me**? Afraid you couldn't compare?"

"You wish!" She yelled boisterously. "I wish," she whispered almost inaudibly, but he still heard. He didn't say anything though…besides practically doing cartwheels in his mind. "Why'd you think that?!"

"Now, now," he jested, "no need to get so defensive, dear. No one else is here to judge."

"Naruto-kun, don't make me have to kick you where it hurts."

"Fine, fine," he laid off. "Are you going to finish drinking that?" He pointed at her cup of remaining ice cream. It had melted, but that didn't deter her.

"It's not warm, so…" She started half-drinking, half-eating it, while he rooted 'chug' over and over. She was soon done, and he smiled.

"Tomboyish too? Well, I knew that already. We should go do something. Just the two of us."

"Do what?" 'Oh Kami, is he asking me on a date? Please yes, please yes, please yes-' "It isn't corny, is it?"

"No, no, it's-"

A sudden three knocks came at the front door and their conversation came to a dramatic pause. The first thing that ran through their heads was who could it be knocking at their door at nine in the night. The second, and most important, was that how someone actually made it onto the property and had the audacity to just knock on the door. The knock sounded rather close to the ground too, as if the person was extremely short.

Naruto decided to try and sense for the person's identity using sage mode. It took all of ten seconds to get into the mode, versus what use to be instantaneous. He had a few ideas as to what, or _who_ , was causing the problem, but instead he focused on the task at hand.

"Naruto-chan!" A rather old-sounding voice shouted. "Are you there? It's Fukasaku!"

"Oh…" Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head in his trademark style. "Heh heh. It's Sage Arts teacher. He's fine," Naruto told Matsuri who had already had her jōhyō out and ready. The UzuNamikaze went over to the door and opened and was about to let in what appeared to be a wizened old green Toad that carried a staff. "Hey, Fukasaku-sama! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The old toad peered inside and noticed a plainly casually dressed teen in the living room staring at him, and then back again at his student. He looked rather…happy. Ever since Naruto started walking a razor's edge with the Sage Arts and the Kyuubi, such a phenomenon was rare. Very, in fact.

It was truly a pity that he was bearing news. And as the old adage once said, 'no news is good news'.

"Tsunade-sama wished for me to come tell you personally. She is still unable to come unto the property."

"Why? So she wants me to come to her? It's a summons?" He looked off towards the tower and looked about ready to leave. "I-"

"She isn't in a proper state to tell you, Naruto-chan."

"What? What's wrong?" Naruto could feel a despondent vibe leak into the air and he himself did not feel any better from it.

"It's…about Jiraiya-boy." The toad looked away while allowing only a single tear to fall. Naruto noticed, and felt immense worry all of a sudden.

"Jiraiya? What about him? He wants me to go to him?" Naruto began hoping for many different things for his sensei all of a sudden, and he didn't even know what was wrong yet.

"Naruto-chan…? Jiraiya-boy is dead."

"…"

"…"

They two looked at each other for a minute long moment, impassive. Matsuri had a good view of the two, and only watched as Naruto began to chuckle. It was one free of all emotion, and it worried her. She knew of Jiraiya from Naruto's stories, (all very amusing) and knew that the two of them were close.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

His chuckling suddenly erupted in to full-blown laughter. "Woo! Old Fukasaku. You really got me. That…" Naruto calmed down, somewhat, but the two with him could sense from the air that his aura indicated him becoming dangerous to be around. "Fukasaku, that is one scary joke!"

"Naruto-chan," the toad pleaded. "I'm not joking. He's fallen in battle."

…

No one knew how it happened, but a fiery red aura took hold of Naruto's physicality, and the Kyuubi's influence was clear, especially by way of his now red, slitted eyes, pronounced whiskers and longer nails and fang-like teeth. " **Don't you lie to me, Fukasaku**." Naruto's voice grew stern and demonic-sounding, and in another moment, the toad was slammed against a pillar of the house a few meters away in a choke grip, spider-web cracks behind him. " **DON'T YOU FUCKIN' LIE TO MY FACE!** "

The toad should have been able to out-fight something like this, but had been taken off guard. He was paying the price, as he was now feeling a repeat stress of his earlier battle wounds and his air-flow cut off.

"Naruto-kun!" Matsuri yelled at the jinchuriki, running towards him from behind. "What're you doing?! Let him go!"

His crazed eyes snapped to her, but he didn't relent. " **Stay out of this!** "

Well, to her credit, she didn't back down either. "He didn't do anything wrong!" She reached him now and tried to prise off his grip on the elderly toad. It was like iron, as Naruto resumed his focus on the toad, intent on finishing what he started, no matter the consequences. Try as she might, she couldn't do it. She tried the next thing that came to mind.

She grabbed a hold on Naruto's head at either side of his face and tried to turn his head to face her directly. His head turned, but he didn't take his eyes off of Fukasaku. "Naruto-kun, look at me!"

He emitted a low feral growl as his eyes turned to face her, but it was short-lived as it returned to the toad. This happened twice more before she got desperate.

Pulling his head closer to her for the last time, she met him halfway and strongly pressed her lips against his. There was hardly anything eloquent to it, as she roughly tried what she hoped would distract him from the toad, enough to let him go. It was also a bit for her…how she longed for the both of them to have a first time, a romantic one, but nothing like this-

And then his tongue entered her mouth.

She had started it off as a last ditch effort to distract him from Fukasaku, then it broiled into heat as Matsuri could feel like his mouth was on fire but it didn't hurt her. Then it evolved into a hopeless desperation being shared between the two; one who felt that to love would mean the loss of everything he had worked for, and the second who wanted love but felt like she didn't deserve it.

His tongue felt rough in hers, like an animal's, while hers to him felt like a snatch of his humanity; she was holding onto it for him and trying to give it back to him, hoping for him to come back and be himself. His claws became his to no longer slice her flesh. His hands became his to hold her closer. His teeth became his to no longer cut her. His eyes became his to gaze into hers.

The act brought no pleasure, only alleviation from all that they were. When all was said and done, Fukasaku watched with bated breath as Naruto collapsed unto his knees and bawled in his grief. It was all Matsuri could do; to kneel before him and rest his head unto her shoulder where he cried uncontrollably.

She became his stronghold. She became his support.

She became his rock.

 **About damn time, if you ask me. I've been writing on this site for a year. All the chapters I've done recently has more than just normal 'friendshipping' people have me pegged for. Coincidence? Nope! I'm just celebrating my writing anniversary!**

 **1\. Yep, I'm introducing ice-cream! It works! All I did was type it, and it existed in the Naruto-verse!**

 **Tell me what you thought.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **I'm back, I'm black and I'm ready to update a new chap! Hmm…Nah.**

 **Ready to update a chapter you won't hate, settle in with a cupful of…sorbet…? Nope.**

 **Thinking up gimmicks, hoping for one that I can stick with,** **rhyming, with mathematical timing to spice up a romance fic! Time to get to typing!**

 **Meh, I give up. Maybe I should pull in Killer Bee into this. I think I could make him do good raps. Nah, I'll just go on with the story.  
I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, and if so, fantastic, if not, well that there's your problem. You could always go read a generic pairing fic. They sure are popular, aren't they? I'm just saying. :P**

 **Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money (unfortunately) is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**

 **19.**

He allowed himself to be led from the room like a docile lamb by Matsuri, something that didn't escape the notice of Fukasaku. The elderly Toad was still recovering from his injuries sustained in his fight against Pein, and nearly completely finished off by his own pupil, in what was now being called a 'simple misunderstanding'.

He was grieving, as was everyone else who was close to the Toad Sage. Fortunately, Jiraiya was able to just relay all the necessary information to him what he could learn, before the dying man forcefully relieved them (Fukasaku and his wife) of their summons, but that left himself to die alone.

But Naruto's grief bothered him quite a bit, not to mention the complications surrounding it. He glanced to the Hokage who was trying to pull herself together, being patted on the back by a raven haired Kato. That was expected, but the wizened green toad had a lot on his mind.

Naruto had become a Perfect Sage just six months before his return home. The benefits of mind were to be able shut off the world itself, of all distractions, of all emotions that could corrode proper judgment. It also granted authority in almost any situation, and charisma? Sure.

But that paled in comparison to the prowess. With it, he could snap in or out of Sage mode with just a thought, with even more strength than what normal Sage mode provided. It was also unlimited, or, as far as Natural Chakra was as in amount. There was no shortage of that, so long as there was life, of course.

And his Uzumaki lineage of powerful chakra and longevity and stamina, not to mention the Kyuubi's sealing in himself causing massive growth to his coils.. That even buffered his Sage mode even more, although it was harder to control. But with it fine-tuned, the benefits were…well, with his benefits, Naruto was a demi-God.

He could stand against a man who _claimed_ to be one.

But as he was now, something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Naruto, for one, was calling on the Kyuubi's chakra last night unwillingly, or even willingly was cause for alarm, as he was supposed to have belayed using that indefinitely. He lost control, even to the point of nearly choking him to death in…a 'simple misunderstanding'. Kami, is that what they were calling near-murders these days?

His emotions were far too strong. A shedding of a tear or two was expected, but for all of last night, that Suna girl had slept in the same room as the UzuNamikaze to keep him from bawling. He knew that they didn't sleep together, they only slept next-to-each other. But as a Perfect Sage, he wasn't supposed to. He was, at the very least deaden his emotions, or have far better control over them.

But as to that Kunoichi…

"Who is she, Tsunade-san?" The Toad asked.

"She…?" The woman came to in such a fashion that Shizune thought she would would've liked, or even killed to get a hold of some saki. But she didn't. The Senju's honey eyes were bloodshot from crying herself for her teammate's death, and the little meeting with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki hadn't helped things. "She's the Suna Ambassador. She's set to return to Suna in…just inside a month."

Fukasaku nodded slowly, although he did hear that Pein promised Jiraiya that the pride of his life would be razed in a month, hinting to the Leaf's destruction. Just a coincidence with timing, perchance. "I see. But as to her living in the Namikaze residence-"

"Naruto just being Naruto, I guess," Tsunade sniffed loudly. "Brat invites her to stay with him. Started out like a favor, but even I got curios how they got so close from day one. I mean, he challenged four of my Anbu guard, and threatened to kill me, all for her safety. 'Member, Shizune?"

"I remember." The 'learner' medic Nin stated. "I believe it was a move he called **Rasengan Mace**. I sometimes shiver to think of the damage he could do with it."

"Don't you think that's…odd?"

"Naruto's always had a knack for making friends within minutes. I mean, he even convinced me to be Hokage. And since he's so fiercely loyal to his friends…well, you see where I'm going with this."

"This is a cut above what's the ordinary. Did you not see how she had to hold his hand to keep him from charging at you, just because he felt you were responsible for sending Jiraiya-chan to his demise?"

"Hell, if he had asked nicely, I would have nipped off myself."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune was mortified, thinking that her master was actually prepared just to commit suicide. "Don't speak like that!"

"I don't care what you think." Tsunade sighed deeply. "I never should have let him go in the first place. It's like I'm cursed or something. Why's it that everyone that I'm close to keeps dying? It's just Naruto now…just an insufferable gaki and Shizune for sticking around in my miserable life. Without them, I'll be all alone."

The room fell silent for a while, before Fukasaku broke it. "Isn't it troubling that the girl has this much control over him? From what I can tell, her presence alone is adequate enough for him to quell the Kyuubi's influence on him. Perhaps he…loves her?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Tsunade said ruefully. "What's not to like? She's basically like him, from what I've gathered."

" **IF** he **loves** her," the Toad remarked gravely. "Then this battle is already over."

"Why's that? Doesn't Naruto at least deserves a-" Shizune began, but the blond cut her off, staring intently at the summon.

"Explain."

…

…

…

"So you're saying that if his emotions aren't suppressed to a tolerable degree, then he won't be able to retain the benefits of being a Perfect Sage, which is what you believe to be the only trump of Naruto able to beat Pein?"

"Yes."

"My God, he's as crazy as a hormonal girl having her time of the month," Tsunade deadpanned. "Whenever he wears that black cloak, especially. When he came back with her, he's been his old self, basically, and then some. Especially when she's out of the house with him."

"That black cloak is just a regular cloak. It's almost as if he's programmed to suppress his feelings when he has it on, although he's the one consciously doing it." Fukasaku explained.

"Elaborate, I don't quite understand."

"He has two cloaks," The wizened summon started slowly. "The red one he usually wears and he is more or less emotional but not necessarily aware of it. Call him normal, but he is still a Sage, almost Perfect. He's a Perfect Sage everywhere else, but with the meditation of a moment, he can will himself to be Absolute and Perfect. As how you'd say, a Naruto, but very much… _settled._ "

"Like before he left for that Kazekage retrieval mission." Shizune piped up, and she got nods. "But what of the black cloak?"

"With the red one on, it's like he's forgetting that he needs to keep his emotions in check, or allows himself to let them have some leeway. With the black one, he's constantly meditating on keeping them suppressed, and as such, much more efficient and is the Perfect Sage as he should be."

"I don't like this Perfect Sage thing," Tsunade complained. "More than once, I talked to him while he was like that, and I felt intimidated. He was even condescending and I heard through the grapevine that he made a fool of Hiashi and made him lose his cool. A Hyuuga, the clan head no less, lose his cool in a 'conversation'."

"That's to be expected, I'm sure. But that may be a small price to pay for the might which he receives. Perhaps in time, that nature he has may change polar opposites and he'll become benevolent."

"Benevolent my ass. If he just stops talking completely while in that 'Black Cloak' bullshit, I'll be happy enough to take just that."

"In any case, I'll have to begin seeing to important matters. I wish to take Naruto-chan to Mount Myoboku."

"Isn't that where you live?"

"Yes, Tsunade-san. I wish to teach him more what I can about the Sage Arts, to make him capable enough to fight Pein. I suspect he'd be back inside that time period anyway, and he'd have to be up to snuff."

"When was the last time Naruto trained?" Tsunade asked aloud.

"If it wasn't with you or Jiraiya-chan, it still would have been a waste of time. He's on your level. But Pein is above the level you three reside, Naruto needs to finish his resistance training…no, to _resume_ and finish his resistance training."

"Resistance to what?" Shizune asked, curious.

"Emotions. Then, the first one we need to work on is lack of a feeling to go all out against top enemies. I suspect that his position has made him lax and complacent and he'll need physical training as well."

"Fukasaku, with all due respect," Tsunade spoke with frightening conviction. "Where the hell do you and Naruto get off by deadening his emotions?"

The Toad said nothing. He knew how and why she spoke like this, and how and why he knew it was 'wrong'. But that didn't mean he couldn't defend it. "The reason why Jiraiya was unable to fight at his peak was because he realized he was going up against the Ame orphans he had formed a bond with. They had no problem going all out to kill him, but his emotions-"

"Wise elder Toad Summon or not, Fukasaku," the Senju's tone promised severe consequences. "I will not tolerate belittling of Jiraiya, especially that of his ideals that made up a vital core of how he viewed the world and his wishes for it to be better."

"I did not mean to offend. I'm only saying that he held back. Perhaps if he had gone all out…" The Toad trailed off, and the two women got the hint that perhaps Jiraiya would have been the one to speak to them, instead of his summon telling them he had been killed.

"This training…" The blonde woman said at last. "When and where would it be done? On what kind of schedule?"

The wizened Toad was about to answer, when all of a sudden, a ninja burst in through the door, breathless. A quick glance of his face told the familiar kunoichis that it was Iruka, looked as if he had run to Suna and back full tilt. "Hokage-sama! He-!" He started wheezing in his breathless state while the Hokage demanded to know what was wrong. "It's…it's Naruto! He's left the village!"

"WHAT?!"

"He was too strong, m' lady! He knocked all who tried to stop him out of his way like flies. Not to mention, the Suna Ambassador, Matsuri-san has taken after him not too long ago!"

"Send for Kakashi-"

"He's on mission, Tsunade-sama," Shizune reminded. "So is Gai with his team. We can't expect either within a week."

"And as I've said before," Fukasaku piped up, "Emotions are playing into his way of thinking. Short of you going yourself and beating him into submission, he's not returning. And need I remind you he's channeling Natural Chakra and is of the ideal of never giving up?"

 **=X=X=**

"Hell, I didn't expect to be running after him so soon," she mumbled under her breath. She barely glanced at the half-ruined gates that her significant other had breezed through to leave, but she did eye the two eternal chunin. They were unconscious…hard to believe that Naruto was willing to go so far just to leave.

"Naruto-kun's not thinking straight. He can't go up against this 'Pein' guy and some paper ninjutsu user. He's going to get…" She didn't fancy herself a pessimist, but she feared that he'd perish as well. After all, Jiraiya was defeated and killed by his own students who knew no mercy for him. Why should they against someone they have no acquaintance with? Furthermore, she hadn't even seen Naruto train seriously, although she wasn't always at his side. A criticality she decided to rectify in the future.

As soon as she could catch up to him, that is. As she was currently, she was lagging behind, only to follow the proof of his wake through areas he had bulldozed with his body.

She supposed that it was fair to call him a Force of Nature.

That's what he was, wasn't he? The guy she knew herself to be love with.

Life worked out in its strange ways. A few years ago…no, since before her adolescence, she was just an orphan, going through the motions of becoming a Suna Kunoichi. Getting taught by Gaara, she really didn't know…did she just fall for a guy with power, but even worse, did she do it _again_?

With Gaara?

With Naruto?

No. With Gaara, it was different. She was always there, trying to do anything and everything she could to catch his eye. But with Naruto… _he_ was the one who was looking out for her, since the very minute he met her. Hell, their introduction to each other consisted of her trying to dent his head in, while he let her. Then when she was about to get into trouble, Naruto lied to Gaara about having a great welcome.

Strange meeting.

Then, he tells his friends about his being a Jinchuuriki. They reacted poorly, and she was…consoling, in an apathetic way.

Then, she gets drunk off of her ass. He takes her in, gets her cleaned up, tries to keep her modesty to herself and gives her his bed to sleep in while he took the _ground._ When all is said and done, she tries to dent his head again, hits his friend by accident, and Gaara forces them to make up…by hugging. Weird.

Then Naruto's all well and good, invites her to stay at his home. He and his sensei argue and he gets offended and takes off alone. She tries to follow using nothing but willpower as far as she was concerned. He appreciates her efforts, and carries her the rest of the way piggyback.

She then basically gets interrogated by the Hokage, and was about to get carried off to get tortured by mistake and he came in, basically threatened everyone to kill them or let her free and the whole matter glossed over.

She then had a one-sided fight with him, nearly died to get back to him to apologize and he basically…perhaps…turned into a Shogun's son or something. The riches, political clout and standing in the village, all overnight.

An issue with trust was resolved within the sealing compartment of the property that determined who could safely traverse the estate.

Repeatedly, she has broken his unhealthy streaks of deadened emotions, but other than that, what had she ever done for him? Save for his…episode last night (that gave her the congenial shivers), and her having to sleep in his room beside him the whole night had a lot of clout, surely.

But that was all she could really say she had done for him.

Her face fell into a scowl as she called to mind how powerful Fukasaku had made Pein out to be. Growing even more worried, she decided that she'd have to give it her all and then some to catch up to the blond, and hopefully convince him to return.

She could no longer just leap from limb to limb of the trees. She'd need the most damn perfect efficiency of free-running she'd ever learnt or seen to convert these obstacles into what could be likened to running blocks.

Leaping over one branch in an overshoot, her left leg caught the behind of it to push forward instead of merely jumping off. Now moving faster, she was dropping in height but caught at another branch with both hands and swung off to another one.

She'd catch up to him. No matter what it took. Whatever the cost, she'd gladly pay it; after all, it was her turn.

 **=X=X=**

He could sense her following behind him, but didn't stop. His black cloak flapped behind him like an errant animal in the wind he had created from moving, and all the while, no matter how much he tried to shut it up, the Kyuubi kept ranting at him in its usual ways.

" **You're going to die."**

…

" **You're going to fail."**

…

" **Both of you will die. I can sense it coming, as sure as the sun seemingly falls into the sea and night follows thereafter. You will not win."**

"And I'll take you with me," Naruto growled back.

He had been going at what he considered a fast pace, saving most of his strength for the battle. But…he couldn't believe it!

She was gaining on him.

He wasn't going to push his speed anymore, although he easily could. Finally settling to make a shadow clone to intercept her, he sensed a new chakra ahead of him.

And they were _multiple_.

 **Well, this is a fine end to what one might (and would) call a filler chapter; it's only a bridge between chapters of important events, and there's only so much I can do with 3k. However, what you think is going to happen…yeah, it might happen but a bunch of stuff is going to happen** _ **before**_ **that. Don't you dare try to hurt your brain thinking what will occur and hopefully I'll be back by next week.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **Well, sad to say, after this chapter I won't be continuing this fic.**

 **Nah, I'm just f*ckin' with ya! :)  
I will finish this fic, so help me, I will! Now let's get this chapter started! I'm feeling the vibes, a soon ending and the Original jutsus I thought up while this chapter was on my mind.**

 **(Keep in mind that this story does not follow a lot of rules stipulated by canon, and some things were taken liberty with. But it's nothing that you can't ignore.)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I own the ideas I created for this fic. It's not official, but don't be a prick and try to replicate it, especially without proper prior notification.**

 **20.**

Matsuri leapt off the final branch and sallied forth out of the treeline. The Suna Kunoichi was pleased at once to see the blond she had been chasing, but she frowned a bit when she saw that there was a group of people standing afore him about a dozen and a half meters away. "Hmm? Is that Pein?"

These people didn't look like the specifications repeated by Naruto's Sennin teacher. Well, there was one person with orange hair, but he had no piercings, although he was muscular and wore a scowl as he stared at Naruto. There was another kunoichi-looking girl supposedly around her age with long red hair with one side appearing tame and it's apparent polar of being wild on the other. Her eyes were crimson behind a pair of spectacles and she wore a lavender-looking uniform. A third one had white hair with a bluish-tint to it. His almond-shaped eyes were purple, and it was well on its way to match his sleeveless shirt. He had a throaty smirk that revealed serrated teeth, and one of his canines stuck out over his lower lip.

The last one however…she recognized him, straight out of Naruto's tales. Besides, the three tomoe sharingan blazing in his eyes was a major hint.

Matsuri got the feeling that she had blundered into a confrontation, but no one was fighting, or saying anything. They were just staring at each other, and killing intent bled from both sides. She landed as silently as she could, and approached Naruto from behind, keeping a sharp eye on those before her. "Naruto-kun?" She whispered. "Who're these people?"

"Just nobodies," Naruto muttered. "And they're in my way."

The white-haired one of the group growled in his throat, but kept himself under control. Juugo growled in his throat as well to show his displeasure and it was only because of orders made him belay his actions, ideally, that of his sanity breaking, and the blond Sage along with it when everything was said and done. The Uchiha in the group was stoic, and Naruto didn't break eye contact, except to look to Matsuri briefly.

She was not safe here.

"Why did you follow me?"

"I came to bring you back to the village," she mumbled, but she repeated herself louder with confidence. "You can't face Pein, Naruto-kun."

"Can't? Or shouldn't?"

"Both. I know you're strong, but you can't go about things like this!" She pleaded.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," Naruto said to her as much as it was to the team of four in front of him. "And if I hide out in the village, I'll only be putting it at risk when Pein comes for me. That's why I'm taking the fight to him."

"You're not thinking clearly!" She rebutted. "This is all about your revenge for your teacher."

"Or maybe I'm doing this for your benefit," Naruto whispered before speaking louder. "So that you'll be safe. In any case, judging on what this bastard wants, it's not safe for you here. You need to leave. Right this second."

"You mean Sasuke in front of us?" Matsuri asked, having already made up her mind to stay. Her hand discretely left its place at her side to be where her jōhyō hung on her belt behind her.

"No," Naruto answered in all too-serious tone as he stared at the youth with the sharingan. "I mean Orichimaru."

 **=X=X=**

"So… What you're saying is that the red-cloak Naruto has is basically like his orange jumpsuit. It's normal to him?"

"You don't understand? I'm sure I explained it properly," Fukasaku stated. He pulled and scratched a bit a tuft or two of his grey hair, trying to think of a new way to elaborate. "Fine. Think of Sasuke Uchiha."

"Bastard," Tsunade harrumphed in abandon. "He nearly killed Naruto a few years ago. If I ever get my hands on him…"

"Think about Sasuke," Fukasaku insisted. "The boy was troubled, yes, and he developed his sharingan, He's like 'normal' Naruto. The one who is nigh Perfect, and can switch into Sage mode whenever he wishes, keep it on, and have his emotions. Yes?"

"I follow. Go on," Shizune asked anxiously.

"And now, think of his elder brother Itachi. Up until their ages coincide. From the age six to twelve. Think of their mind-sets, think of their sharingans, think of their strengths. Sure, Sasuke was talented, but what of Itachi's genius and prowess? What of his mind? His techniques and the strength behind them? That's the difference. Practically raised the same, but yielded different results, especially with the same resources. It's that kind of difference of which I speak."

"Itachi slaughtered his entire clan," Tsunade deadpanned.

"I frown upon the deed, but that is yet another case. He's willing to kill. This enemy will gladly destroy everything and terminate all who even looks at him less than adroitly. A Naruto who's emotional won't, and a Naruto who isn't will spend whatever price, however expensive it may be to get the job done. A man like Pein shouldn't be allowed to continue his path. Even if he's nothing more than a corpse."

"A corpse?" Shizune parroted, bewildered.

"A reanimated Yahiko of the three Ame Orphans. A second, Nagato, was the one who started Akatsuki. He controls the corpses with the Rinnegan. Each of the six corpses represent an aspect of all jutsu. The Deva Path, the Asura Path, the Human Path, the Animal Path, the Preta Path and the Naraka path. The Deva Path is in my opinion the strongest, and he alone could destroy the village. I could tell, and he hadn't even tapped into the fullest extent of his powers. This was all I was able to glean from the encounter, and Jiraiya's texts."

 **(AN: There was no cryptography)**

 **=X=X=**

The youth chuckled to himself as he seemingly glared at Naruto with his Copy Wheel Eyes. "What makes you think that I'm Orichimaru?"

"Cut the bullshit, Hebi!" Naruto growled. "I'm as good a sensor as they come. What do you want?"

"Me?" All of a sudden, purple streaks started running alongside his nose akin to a snake's and his complexion grew more pale. It was no question that Orochimaru had possessed Sasuke. "I'm only here to offer condolences to my teammate and to you for Jiraiya's death."

Naruto sighed. "Is everything that's going to come from your mouth a lie?"

Matsuri had become tensed when she realized that the one before her was Orochimaru, the rogue of the Sannin. But why did he look like Sasuke? Furthermore, why was Naruto so relaxed? "Naruto-kun? What's going on? Do you two have any history?"

"Not particularly. Except for the fact that he's possessed the body of my former friend," The UzuNamikaze said plainly to her, just so all could hear what he was saying. "Well, if he _were_ an actual friend. Sasuke's gone. I supposed that's his own fault. However," he spoke even louder to drop an obvious hinting question, "I don't know why he's here. He now has the sharingan, so he should just move along. He has what he wants. Well, besides knowledge of all jutsus. Shouldn't you get going? You have a lot to learn."

"You will pay for mouthing off to Orichimaru-sama!" The orange haired one yelled. He seemingly grew more erratic in nature and was going through some sort of transformation but it was halted by easy words by his very own leader.

"Calm yourself, Juugo. He knows what I want. He just wants me to affirm what he knows."

Naruto smirked. "You envy the unification of the aspects of Mind, Body and Nature. Your second goal, and you would do well to realize that I'm not giving myself over to you as easy as Sasuke. Come to think of it, not any at all. I'm not into guys."

A twitch of a smile came on Matsuri's face before it fled. She could sense that this was going to come to a confrontation, but wasn't sure what her part would be in it.

"You want the chakras of Nature to supply the chakra requirement of any jutsus, plus the benefits they grant. But you can't, as you lack the physiology, the mentality, and the harmony one needs. You may have the physiology, but to be blunt, you lack the mentality as you are the culmination of the worse facets of shinobi, and there's far too much blood on your shoulders."

"You blame me for having ambition?"

"I blame you for having ambition that requires the opposite of Nature," Naruto said in raw contempt. "To live forever. None should be exempt from dying, not you, not your former master in the Akatskui, **not one**. Generations are meant to replace those of the before."

"..."

"So you and your muscle get out of my way. I've got bone to pick with that... _Pein_." Naruto glared at the group before him, daring them to actually make a move adverse his wishes. He was no fool, though. Orichimaru was no pushover. This man was as dangerous as nukenin came, and he was supposedly the strongest of the Three Legendary Ninja. Not to mention, he now had the Sharingan and decades of shinobi experience.

But he (Naruto) had the power of Nature on his side. He had his chakra, a veritable sea of chakra as an Uzumaki, Sage mode and all of nature coursing around him and through him, and a literal force of nature inside him, The Kyuubi itself.

Arrogant? Maybe.  
Confident? Yes.  
Daring? Absolutely.

No bullshit mood? Well, was the sky blue or not? The answer's the same.

"What if I made you a bargain?" Orichimaru glazed his words smoothly, a sign of a brilliant orator.

"Impure World Resurrection? No." Naruto answered gruffly.

"Of course not. I was merely bartering my aid against the Akatsuki, and in exchange, you will teach me how to use natural chakra."

This offer shocked all of those present; Matsuri, the man's lackeys, even Naruto himself. He could was actually starting to think of the benefits, but when he thought of the cons, he frowned. Orichimaru could already sense a negative answer.  
And he was right.

"No. It would be same as pissing on my Master's corpse to teach you how to use natural chakra. To overcome my pool of chakra, and the ocean that is the Kyuubi's hate-filled one was an achievement, I'm sure, and I could surely teach it to anyone. But to give such a gift to you is too much. Even as I, I sometimes have trouble discerning if you're a man, a snake, or swine."

And suddenly, peace was lost.

…

…

…

All knew what an accident was and is. A mishap that was never intended to happen.  
All knew what a deliberate action was. A mishap that had been intended to happen.  
If one knew that an accident was about to happen, knew how to stop it and was able to stop it while giving warning, but failed to do so, was it still an accident or should it be classed as an intended mishap?

This 'Juugo' person seemed very bipolar in his vibe, speech and actions. Although to be fair, the catalyst for his current rage could be blamed on his condescension to the Snake Sannin, and the man was quick to salvage fear and respect from the UzuNamikaze himself for the man once more.

And Orichimaru just watched the two users of Natural Chakra go at it. A purposeful accident.

…

…

…

"Bastard! You will die for your insults and mockery of Orichimaru-sama!" The orange-haired elder teen yelled at the top of his lungs as he charged at Naruto and Matsuri, becoming more and more horrifying in description as he ran; he was transforming into something…unnatural, for lack of a better term to coin it with.

Naruto looked at his side to see Matsuri getting ready to throw her jōhyō.He knew that she was about to get involved, but it shouldn't be. She shouldn't be.

Well, she'd inserted herself into his life. Therefore, she had inserted herself into his battles as well. But then again, this didn't have to turn out into a battle.

And then Juugo reached them, and then it was no longer his choice to make.

To her credit, Matsuri had realized that the person that was engaging him was no ordinary person, given the darkening of his complexion, and the spiky additions to himself and the fact that he formed an axe on his left transformed side. His left eye had changed as well, but both orbs now shared a crazed look in them.

He was a monster.

That didn't mean that she couldn't do something.

Naruto was getting ready to form a rasengan in his right hand to put his foe in his place when a dart connected to a rope found itself in Juugo's right eye-socket when he was just one meter away from the pair.

"Gaaahhh!" The man half-slid to a stop as he clutched the space over his right eye. As he was about to gather his bearings to press the assault, he got a senjutsu-enhanced rasengan that was bigger than him that began to drill into the ground with him at the focal point.

 **=X=X=**

"Well, what do we do, then? Naruto is still going to fight this over-bearing leader of the Akatsuki and no one in the village can stop him, save for me to go all out against him to break him like an egg and bring him back."

"Maybe Matsuri could convince him to return, Hokage-sama. We've seen that he seems devoted to her. She was going after him."

"You think that she can keep up with him?" Tsunade asked her assistant with contempt. "I think I'm the only one who can go after him as no one else who's up to the task has already been deployed. If only I hadn't had him playing babysitter to that Suna girl and sent him out on assignment as well, we wouldn't be in this mess. He should have been running a gauntlet of missions like everyone else."

"Milady Tsunade?" Fukasaku spoke up. "I could have him reverse summoned to Myoboku from even as I am right here. It would be draining due for my recent injuries, but I'm sure that it's well within my abilities to do so."

"Then do it! You take the brat outta here. Let him wreck your place instead of mine." Tsunade muttered.

"And what of Matsuri, Fukasaku-sama?"

"She'd be left behind, of course."

"I think that's acceptable," Tsunade stated. "She can just walk back."

Shizune was no dunce. In truth, she had always had a good head atop her shoulders, no matter how diminutive she could be at times.

And…she was the youngest in the room, yet she knew that this was a recipe for disaster. She had realized, and prepared to give her admonishment and her reasoning to convince them to do otherwise.

"That's a horrible idea, Tsunade-sama, Fukasaku-sama. First of all, Naruto-kun practically would have ended your life last night. Matsuri stopped him. Yes?"

"Yes. That's true," the elder toad begrudgingly replied.

"Today in our little conference, he was very nearly at your throat, Hokage-sama, judging from his verbal hostility. Who stopped him? Matsuri?"

"Yes," Tsunade grumbled.

"Now, if Naruto were to suddenly disappear from this plain and into a summoning realm, how would Matsuri know? She's as devoted to Naruto as he is to her, and no doubt she'd go searching for him. Not necessarily in the village, but I'm willing to bet that she'd head to Amegakure to see if he had reached there ahead of her, seeing that it was his current destination. She'd get killed. She's not fodder, Tsunade-sama, she's an entire nation's ambassador. We cannot afford to risk her safety."

"These things never happened with Temari," the Senju growled. "Damn-it-all!"

"Furthermore, when Naruto arrives at Mt. Myoboku and without Matsuri, he'd go ballistic. Granted, the Toads would and should be able to suppress his behaviour-"

"I should say before the moment passes," Fukasaku spoke up, "while in Sage Mode, it's dependent on how much actual natural chakra that determines your strength. And it's also possible to increase his senjutsu muscle mass by training it, like lifting weights in Sage Mode. While as a Perfect Sage, he decided to break his record, close to the end of his three year training."

"Fukasaku? I know for a fact that Jiraiya is crazy strong with Sage mode. How much did Naruto **lift**?" She glared at the wizened toad. "How much did he lift as this so-called 'Perfect Sage'?"

"Perhaps lifting is the wrong word to say…" Fukasaku stumbled in speech. "But he won a tug-of-war match with an extremely heavy and dense chain that the higher-ups in size use for the very same activity to see who was stronger. He won a tug-of-war match with Gama-"

"Gamakichi?" Tsunade guessed. "I heard he got really big."

"No. Imagine lifting a massive chain that's far bigger than you, and then winning against Gamabunta himself."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Well, I suppose that we could just let Naruto go do his business, or let you take care of that problem, or we can take care of it. What are we going to do?"

 **And that's where I'll stop. (It was kinda rushed, though.) The fight continues next chapter, but until then, I've got a coin to flip to see what I'm going to make happen. If I let him go on to Ame, if he's reverse-summoned or if Konoha tries to fetch him back. Don't worry, L.W.A.R.D. is still next on the roster for a another update, so don't worry. I'll see you next time.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	21. Chapter 21 (REDO)

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart (Chapter 21 REDO!)**

 **I'm back. Anyway, here's chapter 21.** _ **Again.**_

 **Well, a pal told me about his recommendation, and I couldn't agree more. You know yourself.**

 **A toast: To the readers! May you all be forgiving in the years to come!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **21.1.**

The Sage ducked a massive swing from Kubikiribōchō and pulled out a kunai from his pouch at the same time. As the cleaver sword passed over, he lunged forward with the kunai between the fourth and fifth rib of his combatant, but instead of blood flowing from the certain-kill vital spot, water poured forth. He stood confused for a moment, but that was all it took before Suigetsu to thrust kick him away from himself, as he himself needed more range for the sword to be effective.

"What the hell? What are you?" Naruto asked to himself.

"He's a Hozuki from the mist," the red-haired kunoichi answered nonetheless from where she was perched in his tree. "A real pest, too."

"Damn you, woman!" Suigetsu yelled.

Naruto got back to his feet and scowled like a thunderstorm. They argued as if there wasn't actually any strife between them, but more as if it was done more for semi-serious jesting. Was this confrontation actually serious to them? He didn't have the time for this! It was a mockery! He was still grieving, and eager to go and all but wipe the killer(s) off of the face of the earth.

He knew he was angry. But he didn't care.

Orichimaru leaned against a tree with his arms folded, almost as if he were still Uchiha Sasuke. "Well, well, now, you're eager to use only taijutsu, aren't you?"

"I'm not doing anything special, you damn snake!" Naruto yelled his answer before he went back on the offensive. "You're cursed, you're wearing a cursed body, the Copy Wheel Eyes that are reputed to be cursed that you only seek to use to replicate my jutsus…it's like you're nothing more than a malignant cancer that should be completely eradicated to ensure the levity of others."

"Big talk for a genin who wants to kill Pein," Orichimaru remarked with a chuckle. "You couldn't even 'save' Sasuke."

"I didn't care for him," Naruto said aloud as he tried to get close to Suigetsu, despite the swordsman's swinging arcs to use for bifurcation. "The guy's a prick. Or was, I should say," he said the last under his breath.

And there they were. Karin in a tree, Orichimaru content just to watch Naruto fight Suigetsu while he observed him, and Matsuri was looking on at the corpse of Juugo in the hole.

She suddenly flinched backwards unto her rear end, and scooted backwards. "What the- what is **that** thing?!"

Naruto looked over his shoulder to acknowledge her yell of alarm. A loud roar was heard as what could only be classed as horrific and the creature to emit it leapt out of the hole. Naruto could tell that it was the same young man who was called Juugo, but his entire body had transformed; he was taller, had a dark-brown complexion to his whole body and his left hand still was like an axe, but the right was like a large oversized, fist. Not to mention, since he was facing Matsuri and his back was turned to him (Naruto), he could see large growths in his back that looked like massive growths. In fact, all of him looked disfigured, and it reminded Naruto of Sasuke's transformation states.

"What the hell is-"

"Don't take your eyes off of your opponent!" Suigetsu yelled in triumph as he had just placed just enough distance to swing the sword so that the last foot of it caught Naruto at chest level, with all of his strength behind it. But instead of slashing him in two, it succeeded in batting him away into the undergrowth, and at that moment, Naruto had never been more thankful for having a tenacious skin while in Sage mode.

"Naruto-kun!" Matsuri yelled in worry as she stared off to where he had been knocked. But all too soon, she had to revert her attention to the transformed man who had his on her.

"Rahahaha!" The man cackled as he shot forward and grasped her by the neck where it leveled off into the shoulder. A crater formed at the front on the wrist of his axe-hand and he pointed at Matsuri's head. The crater lit up as a yellow came into being and the man laughed like one insane as all the craters on his back angled forward ahead of him and lit up, all pointing at the Suna Kunoichi. "Gotcha! Payback's a bitch, and you're a dead one! **Multiple** **L** **otus Nonself Connected Canons**!"

Caught at point blank. Matsuri froze in apprehension, but at the same time she managed to share one last glance with Naruto and he with her. There was something Euripedean about the moment, and Naruto knew that she wouldn't survive. And the look in her eyes told him that she knew it too.

The canons went off.

 **=X=X=**

"So those are our options, huh? Try to bring him back ourselves, let him get reverse summoned, or let him go kill some kinda Rinnegan toting demigod. Well, if he's successful, that is," Tsunade moaned. "Jiraiya. Why the hell did you have to go and die on me, you… _lecher_ ," she groaned out the last, for she that in spite of all things, she loved the man like a brother. "Now who the hell's gonna keep Naruto in line?"

"Perhaps…Matsuri-san," Shizune mumbled, "could make an honest man out of him."

Tsunade smiled a genuine smile at hearing this. "Yeah, but he's 'honest' already, heh heh. And just imagine if she became even half his strength. She'd have him completely whipped."

"Really, now?"

"Really. But I wonder if I could use my **Strength of a Hundred** to do Tug-of-War with Gamabunta?"

"If the jutsu name is to be taken literally, do you think a hundred people could budge Gamabunta's forehand, much less wrestle with a massive chain?" Shizune asked wryly.

"Ugh. I'm giving them three hours to get back here. If not, then reverse summon Naruto, Matsuri or no Matsuri. She shouldn't have gone into the frying pan in the first place. She'd better be able to take care of herself."

Just then, a massive explosion was heard in the distance, and all there in the office knew that it was of fighting. "What the-?" Tsunade got up in a hurry and stared through her window and saw a smoke and dirt cloud rising what was around five miles off. She decided that perhaps Naruto was maybe venting his frustration out. If he could wrestle with a gigantic summon, then he might as well do his training from the village, although she was wondering if he were far enough. A part of her told her that it was conflict, but she ignored it. Surely it wasn't one with Pein, as Ame wasn't a mere stone throw away. Besides, who would be crazy enough to pick a fight with Naruto anyway?

But just in case…

"Shizune, you and Fukasaku-sama go after Naruto to see what's going on out there. If it's trouble, reverse summon him to Mt. Myoboku and bring Matsuri home the long way. If he's just venting his anger out on a couple of trees like I'm hoping he is, then let him vent. It'd be safer for everyone, and should have the least casualties."

"And if there's fighting, Tsunade-sama? Wouldn't we be at a disadvantage? I'm primarily a medic, after all." Kato remarked.

"Can she be reverse summoned for a tactical retreat, Fukasaku-sama?" The Hokage asked the toad, hoping for a positive answer, as she was really clutching at straws to send her own assistant and she hadn't any real top-tier ninja to send out as backup for her.

"No," he answered, much to her disappointment. "She'd have to sign…hmm…has she signed the Slug contract?"

"She has, although she has yet to summon them."

"Well, you can have Katsuyu reverse summon her instead. Now then, let's go."

 **=X=X=**

 _Nothing has more strength than dire necessity._

Matsuri suddenly found herself prone on the ground and a massive explosion took place right where she previously was. As she saw the yellow blast blew it's way forward from Juugo, she saw Naruto go flying away from it haphazardly through multiple trees and finally, his velocity took him to the ground and he carved out a trench more than a hundred meters long on his back.

Matsuri was breathless. That…that should have been her! What happened? 'Did…he substitute with me at the last second? Why?!' She yelled in her mind. "NO! NARUTO-KUN!" She nearly screamed herself hoarse as she ran to him to be at his side.

Naruto was distant, both in literal distance and in the land of the living. His eyes creaked closed momentarily and he spat up a globule of blood. He fought to keep his eyes open, and he heard his significant other scream his name. It was all he could do whisper hers, and he did it with the words he had wanted to say for a long time.

"I…love you, Matsuri-chan," he mustered out and thought of her in his mind's eye, hoping that she heard him, but sadly knew that she did not.

Then all went black.

 **=X=X=**

" **Well, well, well, look at this. My jailer has come to see me in his dying hour."**

"Shut it, fox. I know you hate me, so why try to start a conversation?" Naruto harrumphed. "But I can't die here! She's in trouble!"

" **Ever the damsel in distress, isn't she?"** The Kyuubi asked with a chuckle. Naruto glared at the biju so frostily that it actually shut him up.

"She's stronger than me. I'm…weak. I can't even allow myself to have emotions properly without having to keep your influence in check. She's the one that keeps me stable."

" **And it's just a glance at her to make your emotions rage out of control,"** the Demon Fox pointed out with a toothy grin. All around, the area in the seal started to dim, but the Fox knew that he'd soon die with his container. He sensed outside the lad's physical body and sensed that the girl had come to his side, but she was being approached by Juugo. Soon, the two of them would be turned into bloodstains, and the Kyuubi itself would most likely trapped in limbo due to this damnable **Reaper Death Seal** that also had half of his chakra in the Shinigami's stomach.

" _The greatest pleasure of life is love_ ," Naruto quoted out loud, but he soon felt like he'd break down. "I don't care about being a sage. What's it f*ckin' matter if I can't **love** someone?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs at the fox, who dressed back a step. Tears flowed down the jinchuriki's cheeks and he did nothing to stop them. "Can't like, can't dislike, can't love, can't hate!"

" **Well, my chakra is on ban to you as far as you care,** " Kyuubi intoned. **"But you're still alive, although you're practically touching noses with the Shinigami. You can recover from your wounds if you enter Perfect Sage mode. It'll heal you, and you should have enough battle prowess to finish off these people."**

"I'll have to disregard my love for her and my hate for Pein to be strong enough do what needs to be done? To become Perfect?"

" **Yes. Forget her, as your standard Sage mode isn't enough."**

"No." He answered straight-arrow.

" **She'll die,"** Kyuubi reaffirmed, hoping to change his mind. It was all being done to keep Naruto alive long enough to free himself in the future, so one step backward today was more acceptable than failing completely. **"Forget her, and save her!"**

Naruto looked down at his feet in the murky sewer water and realized that the Kyuubi was right. In fact, he knew that he was being selfish, but to embrace perfection to save Matsuri…a small price to pay. He'd do anything to keep her safe.

He wondered if she knew.  
He wondered how she felt about him.  
For once, he prayed that she didn't love him.

It'd make things far easier for everyone.

 **=X=X=**

"Oh Kami…" Matsuri cupped her mouth when she saw the gaping wounds all over the front Naruto's body. She knew him to be durable as a Sage, but an attack like the one he just got shouldn't have been to damage him that much. Unless the attack was more than just a normal chakra attack.

"Why did you take that attack for me?" She mumbled as he clutched his hand, hoping that he was still alive. "You pulled a substitution for me? What have I done to deserve it?" His pulse was weak, but the footsteps coming up behind her were strong and intent. She knew that it was Juugo approaching; she glanced back and saw a mirror image of the sharingan in his remaining eye, and Orichimaru, Suigetsu and Karin approached confidently. The orange-haired man appeared more reserved now; he must have been under genjutsu.

She made no movement as if to get up. She'd be damned if she ran from Naruto's side.

"Well, well, I thought Naruto had more bite than bark this time around," Orichimaru sneered as he reached the two. "But he's still as weak as ever."

She pulled her dart out, got up and readied herself into her usual stance before the lifeless young man on the ground, between him and the group of four. "Shut your disgusting mouth; I don't wanna hear you say your name in it!"

She had prepared to die. She stood in front of the man who may have just killed her significant other, the rogue of the Sannin with a powerful dojutsu, a man who couldn't be hurt and wielded a massive sword, and a wildcard kunoichi.

She was going to die.

"You're all just a bunch of murderers; good for nothing criminals," she growled. "He had no quarrel with you."

"And you do, I suppose?" The possessed Uchiha stated before he suddenly had Kusanagi at her throat, point forwards. To kill her, all that he needed to do was to press it forward and it'd go right through her neck. "It would have been so much easier for you to run away. Pray tell, why did you stay?"

She didn't have to answer him, but instead felt like doing to him what she had earlier done to Juugo. But instead, she surprised the man.

She had never admitted it out loud, much less to anyone. But some fraction of her made her say it, seeing that she was going to die anyway.

"Because I love him."

Orichimaru shook his head with an amused smile as he clicked his tongue. "What a foolish notion. And by all means, judging from his actions, one can tell that he thinks the same of you. It is disappointing really. I suppose nothing more can be done except to resurrect him using the Impure World Resurrection Technique and force him to tell me. Unfortunately, you'll only be around long enough to feed the maggots with your decaying corpse-"

That was all he had to say before many things happened all at once as Orichimaru blinked while he spoke.

Kusanagi was snapped in half and the blade thrust through Juugo's remaining eye straight through his skull. The corrupt user of senjutsu toppled like a ton of bricks.

Orichimaru was knocked backwards with a double-axe handle attack aided by senjutsu force, getting every bone above his neck shattered before being sent in a scorpion slide backwards for all of a hundred meters.

Suigetsu got a vermilion rasengan that had streaks of the Kyuubi's chakra running rampant in it, and as the man screamed, the corrosive properties of the corrupted chakra left the man bleeding profusely before his torso grinded apart into blood rather than water. He was soon sent rocketing away as he rotated behind the rasengan, but when it collided into a boulder, he stopped moving but the rasengan pressed forward, annihilating him.

Karin froze in fear at seeing the massive Kubikiribōchō held overhead to make a swing downwards; she immediately held her hands up to placate, seeing the stone-faced blond about to dispatch her. When she saw that he tossed the sword away as if in abandon, not caring if she wanted to persist or not, she took the opportunity to run away as far as possible, and never looked back.

Matsuri nearly cried as she saw the four blonds in front of her, each facing a direction to where her antagonists had been in. "Naruto-kun? You're alive!"

Three clones vanished, leaving the original that had knocked Orichimaru into next week. He turned to face her and her heart fell when she saw him stoic. He looked…devoid of all emotion. "Matsuri, go home. You're a liability."

He didn't even use the affectionate.

"I-" Was as far as she got before he cut her off.

"I don't want to hear it. Go home. _NOW_." He said the last with a warning, and she could tell that he was serious. He wasn't the same Naruto that she had fallen in love with. This was his other side. The one she had resolved over and over to fix him of, but this one…looked permanent.

She wouldn't let herself be intimidated though, not by him. "No. I'm not leaving."

He almost winced, but kept himself together as he glared unconditionally, although he relented. "Fine. But stay out of my way."

 **=X=X=**

Shizune felt the ground shake and another explosion rocked the area. She remained silent, suffering quietly.

"We'll soon arrive," Fukasaku spoke up. "But this is not the sounds of training. It's definitely a fight."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well, given from all the localized earthquakes, it's a given that he's going all out with taijutsu. This isn't like **Strength of a Hundred** , this is all natural strength, the very same he used against Gamabunta. But who could force him to go that far? Could it be Pein?"

"Maybe we should just reverse summon him, Fukasaku-sama?" Shizune asked worriedly.

"Why should I? Isn't this what we want to happen? Him going all out against a foe that deserves it?" The toad asked.

"No, it's what you want!" The medic chastised, making the summon hang his head. "It's not right for Naruto to be like this!" The finally broke the tree-line, and they gasped at the sight of seeing of Naruto holding up Orichimaru by the neck, the man bleeding profusely. His mouth started opening unnaturally wide and what looked like fingers coming through, but Naruto, without hesitation, made a rasengan and forced it inside. The Yondaime's technique was forced into the man's gaping mouth and the head exploded in gore.

"No more regeneration, Hebi!" Naruto shouted before slamming the man's headless body into the ground and apparently lost his temper. Shizune stared in horrible fascination as Naruto bellowed his next technique as he began beating the shit out of the corpse using only his fists.

"Urrraagh! **Sage Art: Kilo-tonnage!** "

His strength was starting to tell, and the ground shook violently and actually rippled with each blow the corpse took. The force of the Sage's strength took the corpse apart into pieces, then to shreds, then to a paste, then to a stain before Naruto formed another large rasengan that looked to be comprised entirely out of the Kyuubi's chakra and slammed it to where Orichimaru's body previously existed.

And with that, even the stain that the man had been was completely obliterated to zero, and the rasengan finished off even the area that the fight took place.

 **Well, personally, I think I prefer this chapter. Still not my best work, but better. It took most of my Sunday, so you'd better appreciate it. I** _ **mean**_ **it.  
(Yeah, yeah, Orochi's dead. Woot.)**

 **Anyway, later.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **19:58**

19:59

20:00

 **Alright, it's 08:00 pm, and first off, lemme just say Happy (exact) Anniversary to Lassoed with a Rope-Dart!**

 **It was just this morning that I updated L. Twice, and I realized this evening that I had published both of these fics on the same day. Good thing I remembered, or you wouldn't be reading this now. 'Nuff said.**

 **Thanks for sticking it out for so long, people. You're all awesome!**

 **(October 4, 2016)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

"Shizune-san! Help me! He won't listen to reason."

The medic-nin cast her eyes to the side where the Suna kunoichi stood, before looking away to the crater where Orochimaru had been killed and destroyed infinitesimally. The land was scarred and pocked with the signs of battle, and she could hardly believe it. Orochimaru was actually dead. And from Matsuri's recount, Sasuke was dead along with him.

She really didn't want to be the one to break that news to Sakura, but that was the least right now. Matsuri was pleading for her aid to convince Naruto to keep him from leaving.

How was she, a medic who was inferior to man of Orochimaru's might supposed to convince Naruto without the oratory skills or might to get him to the Hidden Leaf?

"Matsuri-san, as much as I'm ashamed to admit it…I'm scared of him." Kato mumbled as if to herself, but the Ambassador still heard her.

"I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid _**for**_ him," Matsuri cried. "You were coming to bring him home, weren't you? Do something!"

"…" Fukasaku shared a glance with Shizune, who nodded with the toad. "Shizune, I'm conflicted. Naruto is in a state of mind to take down Pein. But Matsuri insists that we should retrieve him. I'm prepared to prime the reverse-summoning. What say you?"

Shizune's dark eyes took in the landscape of the fighting area. All were dead, save for a red-headed kunoichi that Matsuri recounted. Those who were fighting were a Hozuki with Kubikiribōchō, a man called Juugo of the Scales who was said to kill his whole village, and Orochimaru himself who had possessed the sharingan in the conflict. Naruto was just that powerful, as he only got a bit of clothing tears, mostly in the front of his black cloak.

"I think we should let him go do what he needs to do," Shizune answered at last. Fukasaku started in surprise, but leveled off into mild shock. "If he could do all this without a scratch, then he can fight Pein, right? He's in his prime as you say, Fukasaku-sama?"

"H-hai." The toad answered.

Ever so slowly, Matsuri's face contorted into horror, appall, disgust and fear. "He did get hurt! He sacrificed himself for me when Juugo grabbed me! He nearly died!"

"Maybe you are a liability after all, then," Fukasaku articulated bravely, but not without a hint of regret in his words.

"Fukasaku…Shizune…the two of you are **useless**."

All present were taken aback by the teen's impudence, and Matsuri turned on her heel sharply to approach the blond who stood in the center of the clearing. Or crater, whichever one truly saw it as. She walked determinedly, but she lost the confident swagger in her step the more and more she got closer to her significant other. He stood stock-still, and his eyes were closed. His face had no emotion, and no one could tell that he was in a heated discussion with his tailed beast.

" **Do you see? You did it so easily and it was all because you've relinquished her from your life."**

'I didn't push her out of my life. I only tried to take my leave from hers.'

" **Feh. You f*cking sap. You still have feelings for her? Banish her from your thoughts, clear your mind and kill the fool who dares to call himself 'God'."**

Naruto took a lengthy exhale before he continued. 'You sound…afraid.'

The Kyuubi was thrown off mental balance and he growled as he tried to regain the upper hand. **"Me? Afraid? Of who? Don't be an idiot, you insufferable fool."**

Naruto smiled grimly internally. 'Oh? I see that you've forgotten; I'm a Sage. I don't get to where I am by being a fool, and I can well and truly sense your fear. You must be afraid of this 'Pein' guy, simply to the fact that he has the Rinnegan. I've been informed that a Sharingan user hijacked your will to use you to destroy the village back when I was born. It makes sense that you fear the stronger dojutsu.'

" **I…do not…FEAR! I inspire fear in** _ **others**_ **!"** The beast roared.

'And you couldn't tell me calmly. But it doesn't matter. For once, I'll agree with you that I must confront Pein nonetheless. The only question is…when? Where?'

" **In Amegakure as soon as possible. While you yet retain your Perfect Sage benefits."**

'That would mean that I would have to go against the entire remaining members of the Akatsuki, including Pein and his corpses, the man behind it all, Konan his fellow founder, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Hidan, Kakuzu, some kind of a yin-and-yang looking creature named Zetsu, and a possible Sharingan user named Tobi.

" **The lecher's final notes were useful, I'll give him that."** The Kyuubi put in.

"So that's…seven, plus Konan, and seven again…I'm outnumbered fifteen to one."

" **Aren't you able to make clones?"**

"So what? I pick them off one by one? One attack when they meet altogether? I'm not a Kami, Kyuubi." The UzuNamikaze's tone was exceedingly sarcastic.

The Kyuubi had to consider that. The boy, while certainly powerful, it was doubtful that he could go afore that many S ranked nukenin. It would be suicide. He could give his container full dominion over his chakra, and that could give him the prowess to get the job done.

But that didn't change the fact…that he wanted OUT of his cage. But he could get Naruto to trust him and be open for him if they formed a 'friendship'.

The thought made him sick. There was a difference between 'desperate' and 'any means necessary'. He…was…not…desperate.  
Well rather, not that much.

He then cast his attention outward and noticed that the girl that Naruto had had on the center of his mind approach, and decided to take a backseat. Perhaps he'd learn something he could use.

…

"Naruto-kun? You there? Anyone home?" Matsuri tried to say jovially, but her nervousness and cracking undertones gave the attempt of a friendly hailing no chance of being what it was meant to be, that is, lighthearted.

The blond opened up his eyes to peer at the form of the Kunoichi who shrank just a bit from his toad-eyed gaze, before she hastily covered the cracks of stature to appear more fortitudinous. "Yes, Matsuri?"

No affectionate. _Again_.

"Well… I was thinking." Her eyes cast looks to the side as she found herself unable to keep his stare. "I n-never got to say thanks for saving my life."

"If I never have to do it again like that," he said slowly, "that would be thanks enough. It's far from terrific for my health to take an attack like that at point-blank range."

Matsuri's eyes widened when she heard this, but forced herself to relax. "I could tell. But Naruto-kun, I don't want to go back to the village, only to wait out my days and find out in the end that you perished."

"Matsuri, you're not going to be some kind of grieving widow. Have you so little faith in me that you believe that I'll lose?"

"I-" She tried to defend herself, but he cut her off.

"You're having more belief that I will lose, rather than that I'll win." He accused.

"Are you that confident that you will win?"

"I'm _certain_ ," he corrected, "that I'll win."

"And I guess that I'm like a cripple compared to you. I'd only be holding you back," the kunoichi replied bitterly.

"You're the strongest girl I know. But unfortunately, what and who you are doesn't go very far against the Akatsuki."

"Ouch." She deadpanned.

"It's the truth. The sooner you accept it, the better. Besides, I-"

"Your vocabulary regressed," she said calmly. "You're no longer a Perfect Sage. Right now, you're only a sham."

And with that, she gained the upper hand.

"But if you really feel _certain_ enough," she used his own words against him now, relishing the aback look on his face and hating herself for it, "that shouldn't be a problem. Go take your revenge against a man that you feel neutral to, and while you're at it, pull an entire Hidden Village into it just by being in its vicinity."

Naruto looked down when he heard this, and he could hear the Kyuubi in his mind, roaring for him to stop listening to her. But as he was able to block the Biju's voice, he couldn't tune out Matsuri's onslaught. "Go and kill for no reason, just for being able to seems to be fine enough in your opinion. You once told me that you hated killing!"

"Do you think a jail could hold any of these people? Can't you see that I'm doing this to make sure they don't hurt anyone else?! Do you think that these people can be reasoned with? They're incredibly strong, have high ambitions with all the Biju and right now, their priority is me! I need to do all I can to bring down the Akatsuki before they all take me by surprise!" He yelled.

"And you're going to do that by knocking on their front door with the very thing they want in the seal on your gut?" She had seen the seal up to last night when they had slept together in the same bed for the first time. And what of the kiss last night? Did it mean nothing to him? Although she was trying to make herself believe that it was more platonic than romantic, of all things.

"Why is this so hard for you to accept?!" Naruto roared, as the final shreds of his patience were burnt away. He couldn't believe how stubborn she was being, not to mention how she appeared to be holding him back. Didn't she know or even realize that he to do this? He took a breather; his emotions were ebbing from him and he had to suppress it. Within a few moments, he had regained stalwart composure and he returned his full attention to her. "Your arguments have no merit, you're being obtuse and you can't even maintain a point. Matsuri," he reached out empathetically as well as with his arms but she seemed far out of his grasp on both counts. The prospect scared him. "What's wrong? What's really the problem?"

There was a moment of silence. It was more of the type of being unbearable, and as Naruto was about to repeat his question, he saw what looked like the girl breaking down (internally) but tried her best to keep herself together. Her lips quivered and her eyes watered and he didn't miss the fact; it didn't last a second before she pressed her lips together and hurriedly brushed away the evidence from her inky orbs.

"Naruto-kun," she started. "I've watched my parents get killed. For the first few months that I've spent grieving over them, I used to hope…and pray that it was just a dream. That I'd soon wake up and find them. But day in, day out, I was forced to acknowledge the fact that they were dead. They weren't coming back. I had to keep coming back to an empty house. But now, here in the Leaf Village, I now have a new home. I'm not talking about a mansion. I'm not talking about a secure dwelling place that makes sure that no criminals can get into it. I'm not talking about a place that has more than enough food to get through all kinds of plagues and pestilences. I'm talking about a considerate," she hesitated here, but she continued regardless, "kind, thoughtful, playful, kid-at-heart, outgoing, whisker-faced guy who doesn't have a single bad bone in his body," she mustered up a tiny smile as she gazed up into his face, having found a good measure of confidence in what she had wanted to say. "I've grown attached. I have a reason to live, to not just go through the motions. I can do more than just be a follower; I now have responsibilities. I don't practically sell myself just to get attention anymore and I know that I've grown all the better for it."

Naruto felt something stir in him. Was this happiness? Hope? He was close to squashing it by meditating and was about to meditate mentally to squash it, but before he could, she continued and he belayed the act.

"But now, I'm afraid." Her smile fell, and his sensory perception told him that she was becoming fearful. I'm afraid of going back to that house alone, knowing that you're going off to fight a bunch of S ranked criminals on their terms all by yourself." She stepped just a smidgen closer and embraced the UzuNamikaze tightly, although his return of the gesture was more modest. "Even more, I'm afraid of going back to that house or wherever I am and finding out later that you won't be coming back. Besides," her head tilted to look fully into his face. "My home is wherever you are."

…

In his cage, for a brief moment, Kyuubi saw his cage begin to streak significant marks and signs of rusting. He started up in his surprise, and he gripped one of the bars. It felt rickety, as if a bolt or bit was missing. His container must be going through some sort of significant emotional event, and it was compromising the seal's integrity. It wasn't quite there yet in matters of corrosion and erosion, so he decided to be more voyeuristic to see what could have cause it, and perhaps, see if he could inveigle it in the future in greater volumes.

…

"Matsuri-chan, I-"

"No, Naruto-kun. Please, don't go. I don't know if I'm being selfish, or a bitch for trying to hold you back, but I just don't want to lose what happiness in my life. It's too soon."

"I'll come back."

"Promise me, Naruto-kun. Promise me that you'll come back," she begged. She was truly clutching at straws at this point, and Naruto could tell.

"Matsuri-chan, I've never lied to you before. Please…don't make me lie to you." The Suna kunoichi's eyes averted to the ground when she heard him say this, but still found it in her to flash a smile.

"Well. I know that you'll try your best…won't you?"

"I have a reason to." His own voice faltered for the briefest moment, but he regained his stature. However, he could feel his grasp on Sage mode abate and he felt…normal, little could describe what else it was supposed to be. "I have a reason why I have to all that I do, to do all I can do, and want to do all I should do. Moreover, I have a reason to need to come back. I once defined love to be a singular between a pair who has an arduous period in which they discover the need to be near one another, sharing tenderness, devotedness, attachment, appreciation and benevolence for one another."

She looked like she was trying to connect the dots on where he was going with this, but still didn't follow.

"But I've been afraid too. I was afraid of approaching you and telling you…" He stopped, as if he had come to an end but in all actuality, had so much more to say. But Matsuri's cognition had caught up at last, and she responded to what he hadn't said.

"Me too, Naruto-kun. Me too. I feel the same way."

Naruto lifted both of his hands from his side, and at the same time, formed two rasengans. In his left hand was one the size of a grapefruit, and in his right, one the about twice the size of a basketball. He gestured with his left hand first, "this is as I am." He then indicated the larger rasengan in his right hand. "This is as I can be. But I have to be a Perfect Sage."

"Then why don't you?" She understood the symbolism perfectly.

"To be a Perfect Sage, I'll have to disregard all that I am, so I can unlock my full potential. I cannot Hate, and I cannot Love."

This part, she had no problem grasping, but in a sense, wish she didn't. "I see."

"I'll have to give up on so many things, Matsuri-chan, for everyone's sake and yours. But I hope that when I'm done, if I come back-"

"When you come back," she interjected with the correction.

"Yes. **When**." He amended his statement with a grin. "When I come back, you'll give me back my humanity." His Sage mode began returning back to him, and as it did, he could feel his emotions deadening. Matsuri almost despaired when she saw the horizontal bar pupils in his eyes but she buoyed up her spirits when she recalled his words and thought it over. "Goodbye, Matsuri."

The loss of the affectionate again was not lost on her, but she ignored it. This wasn't really him, anyway. "Sayonara, Naruto-kun."

He turned on his heel and begun walking away to the direction of Amegakure, resolute in his intentions. Matsuri spent a long time staring after him as he disappeared into distant foliage, becoming more and more tempted to try and sense for him. However, she felt weaker all of sudden and decided that it wasn't such a good idea. She veered her eyes aside to look to Shizune and Fukasaku who were some distance away.

"Let's go home," Shizune called out.

The Suna kunoichi nodded before she strode off, in the company of the medic and the wizened toad in tow. Long after they were gone, a being of black, white and green and garbed in a black cloak with red clouds rose from the ground where she had stood.

"We should go tell the others what we've learned," the 'white' said.

"Only the 'select' others," the black replied grimly. "Some news is not meant for all ears present."

 **Alright, that's chapter 22. I hope you've all enjoyed it. Believe me, I was at 'till two pm today. It's not writers block, but since I'm so easily swayed by romanticism, it makes it harder for me to write romantic bits. You could see that I unintentionally ended a bit more platonic than I wanted it to be. Anyway, the fic will soon come to a close, maybe within five chapters. (Hopefully, without rushing it) I want to be finished before Christmas. This only goes to show...**

… **That I cannot write a short story for Naruto. What's wrong with me? 'End in 30k,' I said. Damn.**

 **But more for you, eh? ^_^**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Lassoed with a Rope-Dart**

 **I'm back. Let's get on with it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **23.**

"So…he's more of a threat when he's deadened himself from petty morality and all the foolishness that humanity has to offer, is he?"

"Yes," the black one said. "But we may have found an effective solution to the problem."

"He seems to be smitten with the Suna ambassador," the white one added. "Matsuri, her name was. He seems to have far less bite to his character even by just conversing with her."

"Is that so?" The Uchiha's lone sharingan eye narrowed as he processed the thought. "Perhaps…" He began to think of how his life used to be back when things were far simpler…actually, he was more of a simpleton then too. Rin was also alive back then too, and he couldn't help but wonder that it was because of her death why he had become all the stronger for it.

"Tobi?" The black one said carefully, knowing that he couldn't afford to leak the man's alias as 'Madara' or his actual name. "What do we do?"

"…I need to know more. Is he **stronger** with her around, or not?"

"I think he's stronger without her around," the white Zetsu quipped. "I've seen him take the brunt of attacks in her place. Without her around, he could perhaps fight without being distracted, if we have to go so far. Not to mention, she makes him emotional. We all know that being emotional on the battlefield creates complications that are hardly for the better. There's also what he told her about that his 'Perfect Sage Mode' detailed that he shouldn't have any ties for love or hate. Being infatuated with her basically negates his prowess."

"Basically," the black Zetsu cut in with a repeat of the rundown, "being infatuated with her has waned him far below his potential."

"I see," Tobi muttered. In his mind, he wondered if he was like that with Rin. He was so much stronger, even in his time of witnessing her demise at the hands of their third teammate…the very one he had gifted his other eye. It was a travesty. But so many things demanded his attention.

But then again, this matter of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki who was on his way to Ame should take precedence over all else. Sure, he was powerful, but he couldn't surely take everyone on at the same time.

Then again, how was he supposed to underestimate the might of one who was able to not only defeat but full on bloodily murder the rogue Sannin, Orochimaru, not to mention that he had had the Sharingan at the time? Sure, granted was the fact that the man had next to no might with the dojutsu such as the Mangekyo, but it's base abilities like copying Ninjutsu and Taijutsu and have heightened perceptions of time was more than enough to bolster an already powerful man. The Sannin were just a bunch of old people anyway, clinging on to their might of past deeds, but still. Give credit where credit was due, and this… _threat_ coming was to be recognized. Akatsuki was dwindling. They had suffered losses, and not many Biju sealed in rectification.

The Two Tails, Seven Tails, Eight Tails and the Nine Tails were up and about. Of the Akatsuki, only he, Pain/Nagato, Konan, Kisame, Itachi and Kakuzu was still alive. If Kakuzu hadn't somehow killed or rid himself of Hidan somehow, he'd also be of their number.

They had no bolster. But they were still enough for the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Weren't they?

"Zetsu," he stated in an authoritative tone. "Tell Kakuzu to return from his bounty hunting. We shall have to stand together against the Kyuubi Jinchuriki."

Both sides of Zetsu raised their respective eyebrows. "Is there really such a need for precaution? He's just one jinchuriki. Even you yourself should be able to manage him." The black side answered.

"I've never been one to take foolish risks. Besides, this youth has had a long history of overusing clones tirelessly. Besides," he turned to the white side of Zetsu. "I'm going to go fetch some more insurance. Zetsu? Did you happen to-?"

"Why, yes, I did," the spore-like thing stated as its face began to contort to form a new one. "I thought that you'd wish for me do it."

"Excellent. Hither, White Zetsu, you'll come with me. Black Zetsu and a white Zetsu spore clone, fetch Kakuzu."

 **=X=X=**

All that rested on his mind were shades of grey and silver. He felt impartial and partial at the same time. He felt dark and light, black and white, everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time and yet…not at all. But somehow, it wasn't confusing, everything made perfect sense. Everything was logical, had clarity, had an explanation. Why he was a Perfect Sage, he knew and how. Why he was here fighting Kakuzu, he knew and how. Why Asuma was dead and Chiriku forced to withdraw from the fight, he knew and how.

Why Matsuri felt like a foreign form to him, he knew and how.

He knew with his current knowledge. How he knew? Because he was a Perfect Sage.

This didn't mean that he liked it.

When he first began training for the title, he had gravitated naturally to the idea of training. Now, for the first time, he was starting to abhor the results of any sort of training. He finally had someone in his life whom he had affection for, and Matsuri had told him that she felt the same way. Why did he have to make choices like this when no one else had to? No wonder Jiraiya chose the roundabout fashion of just being the semi-physical container of Fukasaku and Shima. Why Jiraiya never wanted him (Naruto) to become a Perfect Sage. He had to give up too much. And the benefits didn't really outweigh the cons.

Matsuri will remove this from him, and he would do so willingly. By her loving him and he returning it, he'd give up what he now considered a curse. But for now, he'd use this curse and finish what Jiraiya started and end the Akatsuki for good.

Starting with this one.

Metallic tendrils wrapped itself around his wrist before it proceeded to twist him savagely and slammed him through the walls of a nearby temple. He was pummelled by the falling rubble for a second before he was out again, a large Rasengan in his right hand that began splitting itself up into smaller ones that rotated around his wrist by the number of four. It was a smaller variation of his **Rasengan Mace**. Kakuzu instinctively tried to dodge it, but was grabbed by three shadow clones, one to each arm and another one using an underground moving technique reminiscent to his Copycat Sensei and held fast to the enemy nin's legs.

His momentary confusion and panic was all it took and Naruto capitalized on it as it had left the man's guard wide-open. Naruto shoved his Rasengans-covered wrist into the man's gut, and all four chakra techniques burrowed into the man's steel-like flesh, and settled inside his bowels, where they all collapsed their intended shape and their directions became uncontrollable and sporadic. Quickly removing his arm, the UzuNamikaze leapt backwards, leaving the Akatsuki Nin to his hapless fate that was filled with a gory death of gore as his midsection exploded.

It was over.

His hearts were destroyed, their masks pulverized and the bounty-hunting ninja was done in by the rasengans. But Naruto could tell that he was not yet finished with his work.

" **Boy, keep your focus! There is much to do, and you're losing control of Perfect Sagacity!"** The Kyuubi chastised.

Naruto looked down before turning to Chiriku. The man was injured, but not too badly. He'd be able to make it back to his dwelling-place. Needless to say, Naruto created two kage-bunshins to accompany the man, as well as to pall-bear Asuma's body with the monk so it could be prepared for burial; no sense in leaving it to be fed on by carrion birds.

" **I said 'FOCUS'!"**

Naruto sighed as he started on his way once more to Amegakure. "Look at who finally gave a damn."

" **Don't you dare think that this is for your sake, you pathetic-"**

"Thanks for giving me the heads-up," Naruto cut off the tailed beast. "I appreciate it. I know I'm losing focus; Matsuri's still on my mind, and I'm becoming more jaded to violence and…"

" **Think nothing of it,"** the beast said in a much more calmer tone. **"I'd rather much be free, but at the very least, you know that I have to escape this cell before you die in order to be free. Otherwise, you'll only take me with you. This, and only this is the reason why I'd even waste my time giving you proper caution."**

Naruto thought about this. After all of this, it was all the Kyuubi truly wanted. It was actually kind of heart-breaking. The beast, while it was heavily comprised of malice and bad juju, still wished for freedom and only saw him (Naruto) as one of those who were keeping him from his heart's desire; that of any caged, wild animal. To be free; to roam as they wished, to do what they wanted whenever they wanted.

Naruto wanted that for himself too. When he returned from this, he'd gladly give up the responsibility and the benefits and the curse of being a Perfect Sage, just so he could be with Matsuri. She wasn't just an ordinary kunoichi that was as sharp as a razor and beautiful as a delicate flower.

She was different.

She was rough and tough as her character; she was as strong as him in ideals, perhaps even stronger. She was tenacious, even without the benefits of invulnerability. She was soft-spoken, yet brash when the time allowed for it, and she was sensible and acted as his voice of reason. She was his rock, and at the same time, she was his desert rose. As simple as it came, the rose bloomed rarely because of the heat, and the petals were gorgeous, yet resilient in their stance against the glare of the sun. She was like this, coming into her season now. She'll be in her prime, modelling into an even stronger young woman.

Hopefully, he'd be an even stronger young man. What was he to her?

He was her home. He was the ground where she lay. Not just where she would grow, not parasitic where she'd get her nutrients, but to be her support through the ages. He'll be her home through the weathering of the elements, her fortress during the storms, her anchor through the floods.

They'd keep each other strong.

"Hey, Kyuubi?"

The Nine-Tailed Fox was silent.

"Just in case it looks like **I won't** make it…"

"…"

"I'll let you out. Just…make sure you finish what I'm starting. And _stay away from my loved ones or I'll f*ckin' come back and haunt you for the rest of your never-ending life._ Are we **clear**?" The UzuNamikaze uttered in his most serious, 'I-shit-you-not' voice.

The Kyuubi thought over this new development. While he knew that there was no afterlife for such a threat to be even feasible or possible, he knew that his container was making quite the bargain. He could just end his life on attachment just by dying himself. Yet, he was offering that he'd release him. Hopefully, the boy would be able to release him from his bondage just before he actually bit the dust if such a tragedy should ever occur. But nevertheless, he could honour the boy's proposal. He had no bone to pick with anyone alive in the Leaf, or anywhere at all for that matter. Besides, he had no intention of getting resealed. **"Yes. In all honesty, I find that quite agreeable. But is this offer proposed for your own conscience, is it that you only want the Suna girl to be safe from future Akatsuki threat?"**

"Both. Now let it be." Naruto set his sights on Ame. "Now, how to deal with Itachi and Kisame, I wonder, much less Pein?"

" **Might I suggest razing Ame with Tonnage?"**

"Just because we've made an agreement doesn't mean I have to entertain your notions of mass- destruction."

The Kyuubi gave something of a shrug in his mindscape before deciding to sleep for the boy's journey. **"I couldn't care less if I tried.** "

 **=X=X=**

Matsuri felt weaker, ever since she had left the battlefield. As she ninja-hopped from one branch to the other, she wondered if she had burned through more chakra than she had first thought. She hadn't used that much, but she did use quite a bit to get to Naruto in the first place when she was chasing after him out of the village.

It made no sense.

She decided to refocus her efforts elsewhere, as in keeping up her speed and efficiency of travel alongside Shizune and Fukasaku as they made their way back to the Leaf.

She couldn't help but think that she was moving in the opposite direction from Naruto, and that in itself was wrong. Why was she? Why was **he**?

She loved him. He loved her. Shouldn't two people who love one another come together? Why separate?

She was more or less attracted to power. Well, used to, that is. But now, power was keeping her away from the one she loved. Perfect Sagacity? The Power of Nature? The Might of Reason? The Knowledge of Right and Wrong? The Recognition of Necessity?

It's always been in the way. Why would Naruto even want this in the first place?

It was simple. He had no one to love, and so many hated him. In his quest to become stronger to protect what precious few he had who, mostly in actuality, peers from his generation who only saw him as 'Mr. Dependable' and 'Mr. Help-me-Out-of-a-Jam'.

He had no reason to relinquish it, but now he had a reason. She **was** the reason.

To be human was to err. To be human was to harbour grudges. To be human was to form bonds. To be human was to be loyal to a fault. To be human was to hate. To be human was to love.

He was willing to embrace this once more because of her. He had even turned down the affections of Hinata, and he still saw her as one he wanted to be with. She was damned special to him, and she knew. She felt the same way.

Now, he was on a suicide mission. He wanted the world to be rid of the Akatsuki; yes, revenge was in the mix, but it was no longer the sole reason, or even the main one. He wanted the world to be safe for his loved ones, for himself, for her.

He was cleaning house before he settled in. To use Perfect Sagacity for the last time, then he'd cast it aside.

"You're awfully quiet," Fukasaku spoke, wrenching the Suna ambassador from her thoughts. "You're worried. Don't be."

" _Don't be_ ," she mimicked unintentionally, before she frowned heavily. "He's going to-"

"If Naruto can't beat him, then who should have gone in his place?"

She went silent as she pondered this. "Tsunade-sama?"

"And since Jiraiya is stronger than her..." Fukasaku trailed off with the hint. "Who next? Another Kage, perhaps? Even multiple?"

"YES!" She screamed. "ANYONE, EVERYONE ELSE! EVEN ME, TOO! NOT THE ONE PERSON THEY'RE AFTER!" She came down from her emotional high, panting from the exertion. "Anyone but Naruto-kun."

Shizune shook her head sadly along with Fukasaku, knowing of all their dead loved ones through the ages. "I'm sorry, Matsuri. Truth is, I don't know who else can fight for us, and it's wrong for us to even allow Naruto to go off like that."

"Then why didn't you get him or bring him home like you were supposed to?" The girl bit back in an acidic tone.

"Matsuri, Naruto has the ability to create virtual armies of himself. No one else has ever come close to that battlefield advantage. He had had to do that in the past to overcome foes when his own prowess wasn't enough, hoping that sheer numbers could defeat them. Now, imagine so many of those Narutos, all imbued with Perfect Sagacity. He's the only one who can fight Pein and the rest of the Akatsuki all at once and live."

"And if Naruto takes a hit, they ALL die," she mumbled. "Have you thought about that?"

"I've taken it into consideration. Chances are exceedingly slim that they can even harm him through his tenacity of being a Perfect Sage, much less kill him." They landed in front of the village now, and strolled in through the gates and regarded the now-awake guards who had been knocked out earlier. Without even realizing it, they all began walking to the Namikaze Property as they continued speaking. "I know it's hard to accept, but Naruto's the only one who can fight for us. We just need to have faith. In the meantime, I'll have to prep the others of my kind that we may very well be summoned to battle-"

Matsuri looked down, as his voice droned on. "But if I may be so morbid," Fukasaku continued. "If he fails, take heart that we'll all see him again, as Pein has seen it in his mind to destroy the Leaf and all it's denizens."

"All Inter-nationals should leave, anyway, tourists, mission-issuers and...ambassadors," Shizune said pointedly, indicating that Matsuri should evacuate, just in case. "They should and will be going home. They should be with their families, and safe should anything happen."

They stopped in front of the compound, Matsuri having taken a long time in answering. Finally, she turned to the both of them who had been like escorts for the trip. She had thought about what was said, and she made up her mind.

"Well, in that case, I'm staying her to wait on _mine_. That's the least I can do." 'Naruto said he'll be back. I just need to have more faith in him!' She yelled mentally, but all of her words were resolute.

Shizune and the elder Toad nodded in understanding. Grateful that they could give her that much quarter, she headed inside and sealed the gate behind her with finality, but not without a nod of goodbye before.

Her weakness resumed before she realized that she really was running low on chakra. It was baffling. She had never exerted herself that much, and yet, here she was, fighting to keep herself on her feet.

Looking forward to a rest, however, the last thing she expected to come face to face to was a splitting image of herself behind the door like an invitation for the damned.

She never felt the white Zetsu steal chakra from her when she was still speaking to Naruto.

She never felt the white spore left behind on her continue to steal her chakra.

She never felt herself collapse to the floor from chakra exhaustion.

She never felt the spore crawl off of her to rejoin the white Zetsu clone of herself to keep up it's impersonation of her.

She never felt the clone of her dump her body outside of the compound that night, into the clutches of one of Naruto's enemies, who then used Kamui on her to transport her unconscious body.

She never felt anything at all.

 **Scene end.**

 **Well, that's it for this chapter. I was hoping that it wouldn't end up in a damsel in distress for the climax, but it might. Sorry. I'll still see how I might be able to change that, though. I, and my** _ **imagination**_ **, we really try.**

 **Besides that, I decided to throw out any and all secrets into the opening about the fic as we're heading quickly for the closing. The next chapter may very well end it, and I have two endings in mind, alternate endings and epilogues. So at the most, three or four more chapters, the next one should be a full chapter, and the others are alternate endings and epilogues which might go for 1.5k each. Best as I saw fit, anyway. I hope to post everything next time, so you might be in for a wait. But no longer than necessary. I kept on this long, haven't I? In the meantime, check out one of my Ultimatum fics. You'll like it, or your money back, guaranteed. But if you don't pay money, don't expect to get it back. Heh heh.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	24. The Last Interlude

**Well, it's been a long time. How long? Since the 16** **th** **of November in the year of 2016.**

 **Yeah, I've kept you waiting long enough. Thanks for sticking it out. Not just for this chapter, but for the whole story in general.**

 **The end is coming.**

 **For those who want to know, this will be a twin set of two double-sized chapters-… there will be two updates. Each update has an ending to the fic and its own epilogue. Enjoy. However, be warned that if you read one ending, it'll somewhat spoil the other if you try to read it as well. I have read alternate endings before and I know from experience that reading one first removes a lot of effect from the other. I like both endings, personally. Can't say that you might. They both start the same but don't share the same climax and epilogue. No spoilers. Well, I already have. You just don't see it yet.**

 **Basically, I'm telling you to go flip a coin before reading any one of the two. Either this one or the other. You can read them both, I won't stop you (not that I can, anyway) but that's your song to tango to, not mine. But you should try to commit to just one; either choice has an EPIC length by this story's standards. I got carried away with the climax.**

 **24\. The Last Interlude**

The Uzumaki did nothing to stop the tear from being shed from his unique eyes. He was all alone now, and he could be permitted this. There was no one around to judge him, no one to tell him any different. It was just him, and he was sure that the anyone in the tombs of the graveyard he was in didn't mind-…no doubt they had gone through the same thing with _their_ visitors.

The wind began to pick up a bit and it ruffled the coat he wore. Silently, he fumbled with the seals on his arm and from one of his food seals, plucked out a small bottle of saki. He was about to unscrew it before he slightly giggled to himself, although a frown marred his features. "Nah. I'm not going to. I wouldn't dare give any to you. You can't hold it well when it starts flowing. Besides," he tossed it up and away behind him, "I remember your little slip-ups with the stuff."

Of course, there was no answer. There would never be any answer again.

It was because of this why he kept up the Sage Mode. If he released it, he'd probably reduced to a crying, quivering mess. If he could be crying while in the stoic vibe of Sage Mode, who knew how badly the grief would affect him? He couldn't trust himself…he wouldn't dare to, unless he was in her arms.

And who knew how long before he'd see her?

God, he missed her being next to him. He was too vulnerable.

Not vulnerable physically. He'd proven that he wasn't, or at least far from it from the example of just a measly year ago. When he had fought Pein. The man who thought he was a God and had the power to back it up had nearly killed him. It was there that Matsuri had jumped in, and became a catalyst.

A catalyst for change.

Naruto looked down and clenched his fist. What exactly did a Sage have to do to bring about peace? Did he march about with placard signs? Protest? Preach? All very idealistic, he was sure. But no matter how you cut it, how you did the equation, if you added any of those acts in it, there would never have been any peace.

The very same thing that Pein himself had told him, the power of fear, that alone was deterring everyone from war presently. There would be no vacuum of power stemming from the loss of jinchurikis from the nations. If one man could spearhead an entire organization of S-ranked shinobi and rule the very same people mighty enough to capture jinchuriki, how strong was this man, the man with the Rinnegan and boasted himself a god?

Furthermore, who was strong enough to tangle with the person who beat him? Who could fight the UzuNamikaze himself?

Iwa…no jinchuriki. No spine to mess with him.

Suna…half jinchuriki. Friends with him, the Kazekage himself.

Kiri…no jinchuriki. No reason to fight him.

Kumo…one jinchuriki. But they were keeping to themselves. In fact, they were the only wild card, but after tales of his exploits in Ame, everyone was leery of Naruto, even his friends. He was all alone, save for one person. Only one stuck by him.

Naruto looked down at the grave. Jiraiya would have been ashamed of him, despite being a sort of watchdog for the nations. This was peace, but it was not achieved the way the man had intended. 'Am I really the child of prophecy?' Naruto gazed silently at the grave in front of him. Knowing who lied beneath…finally, the dam over his feelings broke and he fell to his knees, letting his head sag to the tombstone. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'msorry, imsorryimsorryimsorry,' his words blurred in his mind and hot tears rolled down his cheeks. "I failed. I…failed."

'Our dreams for peace are the same. The only difference is the method, and the only way of going about it is deterrence. Whether it by being a monster, a jinchuriki or a Sage. We're not mere flesh and blood any longer.'

'Now you fully understand what the world truly is. Happiness is an illusion, it passes quickly. But from now until you pass on into death, you will know pain. This is what makes us kindred.'

Naruto nearly ground his teeth into powder when he heard the unwelcome monotone of Pein while in the abyss of his grief. 'Damn you, Madara! Pein! DAMN YOU! If only…if only…'

But it wasn't meant to. Hindsight had perfect clarity. But that didn't mean that there was a lesson to learn. It was just a matter of time and place. It always has been, and always will be.

His Sage mode alerted him to someone sensing him. He knew who it was. There was only one person who would seek him out in that particular manner, and he tried to put on his best face. He didn't quite trust himself to look too badly affected around her. It might make her too uncomfortable.

After a few minutes of trying to mop his face with his shirt sleeve, she stepped out from the clearing of trees. The first thing that gave her away was the gleaming Leaf hitai ate around her neck that reflected some sunlight back into his eyes, half-blinding him. But he already knew what she looked like and in his mind's eye, was the same as she always was. "Naruto-kun?" She called.

"Hey," he called back as he got up and stood straight, putting on a brave show. However, like always, saw right through it. But he continued with the façade, hoping she wouldn't try to press further into it. He instinctively tried to let his Sage mode ebb from him, but only barely. At least in that way, she would be more comfortable around him.

"Naruto-kun, you're beginning to worry me. I am sorry about-"

"It's fine," he cut her off. "We should just go. I know how much you like dango, and I promised to take you out to get some."

The girl frowned slightly, suddenly wondering if Naruto still had on his Sage Mode. She had scouted him out and realized it was on, bit she knew that Naruto did it to help himself suppress grief, especially while he was here. "Do you have still have Sage Mode on?"

He kept his eyes and his mouth closed, especially not wanting her to see his eyes; he knew that she favored his blue ones, and needless to say, he didn't have those at present. She thought it was because he was trying to hide tears again, and without pre-meditation, drew him into a close embrace. She didn't say anything, but she allowed him to cry on her shoulder. His mouth curled into an ugly scowl as the waterworks ran. "I…just couldn't…I failed. Guess there's no such thing as perfection."

She understood perfectly.

Slowly and carefully, she eased up his head. He still had a tear streaking from it, but she waited. It was growing painful to watch the strongest person she knew be like this, but for this, she'd be stubborn, just as he was. She wanted…no needed him to look her in the eyes. At long last, he opened his and stared into hers.

 **Choose an ending to read.**

 **Ad Meliora**

 **OR**

 **Ad Mortem**


	25. Ad Mortem

**=X=X=**

 **Fac et Spera**

The dreary rain now fell in more independent drops, rather than the usual heavy sheets. All of the fighters stood adroitly to each other, and all of them wore nothing on their faces. There was no emotion, no betrayal of internal feelings. But anyone with even half a brain could see that the blond among them was cracking.

'Madara' smirked beneath his mask. At long last; it had taken too long to break the UzuNamikaze, and now that he had the answer before him with a knife to the throat. Now watching the UzuNamikaze, he couldn't believe that he had been so cautious. Granted, he had received word of the death of Kakuzu so he knew that the Sage was nothing to trifle with, but now that he had taken…sufficient measures to dull the UzuNamikaze's edge, it looked as though the difficulty had dropped from Kage to Genin. Oh, and what was this? Was the Sage now _trembling_?

Indeed he was. The so-called 'Force-of-Nature' was now shaking like a leaf in the wind. How appropriate. Although he should still be respected; he did manage to annihilate the armament-type path that was the Asura path, the Human path and the all-too-valuable Naraka Path who was to revive the others. If things had continued to go like this, who knew what else the Sage would have done before he had shown up with the prisoner?

Well for one, he wouldn't have lost his nerve.

Naruto quivered as if he were wracked with ague as his eyes actually wandered from the people he had been fighting to the girl that he loved, the very same that who had a kunai held at her throat. Her eyes were half-slitted as if she had just woken up from a long sleep.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto," 'Madara' said almost disappointedly. "I must say, first you resist attempts on being captured, and then you decided that it would be best if you challenged the very same Akatsuki on their own soil? This hubris of yours is appalling. If I may ask…does being a Sage make you _better_ than anyone else?"

Naruto's gaze fell. Did he really think that? Before he could ponder it, the masked Uchiha continued. "Furthermore, did you actually believe that this would be a mere clash, just another fight? Only one faction is walking away from this, but no matter which one it may be, it will not be unscathed. You've come not to conflict of brawn, but a conflict of goals, of means to attain peace, of dreams."

Naruto didn't respond, and 'Madara' didn't continue. However, Pein was more than willing to finish. "You're Jiraiya-sensei's student, aren't you? You should know that more than anything else, he wanted to attain peace. You believe that the sunset of the Akatsuki will bring peace, but we have our own ways and means of attaining ours. Peace isn't won by laying down arms but rather won by taking them up and completely annihilating the offenders and causes of a deterrent to peace. It's only in human nature to wish to go adversely to people they don't know, neighbors, friends, even family. They need a deterrent, and that's what we'll make and do."

"That's true." A new voice said in a low tone. But as it were, everyone was keen on looking to the speaker and realized that it was Matsuri. "It is true that it's in human nature to seek conflict, and for the most pathetic reasons imaginable." She spoke calmly as if she wasn't held at knifepoint by the man behind her. At hearing this, everyone had to wonder why the girl was _agreeing_ with the 'enemy', especially Naruto himself. "But then she continued. But look at Naruto-kun over there. He had every reason to go ballistic on his own village to raze it to the ground, and yet he didn't. That's proof that humanity has the capacity to change."

"He's a special case," Konan said, almost taciturnly. "A _Sage_ isn't susceptible to the human condition."

"Well, _he_ is." Matsuri replied, before 'Madara' tightened his kunai against her throat, trying to shush her. All he did was inflict a linear cut on her exposed neck that bled lightly. The girl laughed a little, despite her situation. "I took some guilty pleasure in proving that he was. Nothing risqué, just in the name of fun and all."

"That's enough. This isn't a social," The Uchiha's voice grew increasingly stern. His reaction only served to knock Naruto down a peg, and he shrunk a bit in stature. However, he still had defiance in him; he wouldn't really be Naruto without it, anyway.

"Let her go, Madara!" He yelled.

"Fair exchange," the masked man pontificated, "is no robbery. She will be returned to wherever she wishes safely, in exchange for your submission. Otherwise, I can't very well guarantee that this pretty little flower here will live to bloom tomorrow. She'll be snuffed out."

"…" Naruto's gaze flitted to all of his antagonists while he cursed mentally. He was still pondering his options but he found himself taking an unconscious step forward towards Matsuri when he saw her throat bleed a little. He made another two before he caught himself, yet the amber of his eyes and the red pigmentation around his eyes washed out slowly before turning back to his normal cerulean ones.

'Madara' allowed himself a small smirk on his face; no one would see it anyway because of the mask. Oh, how the mighty to be brought so low. As he was now, the jinchuriki should be even more susceptible to genjutsu, but rather than doing that, he wanted to pull a little more on the yarn that was the UzuNamikaze's willingness. "Don't stop now, UzuNamikaze. There are only two choices, and you have to fully commit to either one or the other. No man can walk two roads at once."

It was at this point the Sage completely stopped. Naruto ceased all movement; in fact, the only things that kept working normally right then and there were his heart, being in a constant rhythm. His breathing rate changed, and while his eye glazed over, his mind slowed to a crawl, trying to wrap itself around this new development.

This situation felt rather…cliché. An antagonist holding a beloved hostage against the protagonist. Only one of them could live, and the fate of everyone else hung in the balances.

But it was actually so much more than that.

This was just a conflict of dreams between two gray people, both of whom were fighting for peace. One sought it one way, the other, another way. Like there was one spot on a mountain, but while one person was climbing to it where it in the middle of the slope, the other was coasting downwards to it. Two powerful people stood adverse to each other, one with powers of existence and the other with the force of existence. One spiritual and the other, mental. One who judged with vengeance and the other who judged with fairness.

One, _supposedly a God_ , the other, _supposedly a Sage_.

That's what it all boiled down to. This masked bastard was like an intrusive child in an adult argument…who happened to have some collateral that had actually brought a force of nature to a halt.

The rain that had been falling in a light drizzle began to be blown about by a gentle wind. Instead of falling straight onto him, it began to blow on his face and streaked on his cheeks. Not one of those before him with the fancy dojutsus could see that the Sage had started to cry, but only Matsuri saw. Only her.

The UzuNamikaze's internal maelstrom began to grow. As the time seemingly lengthened out into eternity, the more he had to grasp the fact that only one of them were going to be alive when the storm settled. At least one, if not both.

Then the amber completely washed out of his eyes as the sage mode vanished from his system.

Matsuri would have gasped, had it not been for the knife at her neck. Naruto had given up. No, no, NO! 'No, Naruto-kun, don't!'

She could scream at him all she wanted in her mind, he had started walking again to the group slowly. His aura had done a complete 180'. Now, it looked like a mere breeze could blow him over in his submissive state.

"No, Naruto-kun, don't come any closer!" She hissed, trying to stave off his approach. 'Madara' told her to 'shush-up' in a rather sadistic tone, and it served to make Naruto pick up the pace a bit more, not wanting to see the love of his life get killed in a fight that was not hers. "Stay back!"

"I…have to." He said haggardly before he sighed. He hadn't even realized that he was tired. "It's for you, Matsuri-chan."

"If you're doing this for me, then listen to me, stay back!" Naruto recoiled slightly when he heard that, and 'Madara' decided that this once, he wanted to see where things were going. "Naruto-kun...it…it looks like I was right, after all."

Naruto was about to take another step forward to Pein but stopped with hesitation. He regarded the Suna Kunoichi who was on her knees facing him with a kunai at her neck. Her bonny face had a streaking of rain on it, but he could tell that she was crying, just like he was. Oh, how the tenacious two had been reduced to grief; when push came to shove, they were strong everywhere, save for when it came to each other. "Right about what?"

"You know. About you settling for less than the best. For me. Maybe Hinata wouldn't have gotten caught in a horrid fix like this."

Naruto growled lowly, mostly to himself as he began to tread forward again on his long walk down a short death-coral. He was walking to his death, a death squad of incredibly strong nukenin who merely wanted to achieve their dreams of peace. He could see Pein ahead of him, almost looking expectant as he let out a steel-looking rod out of his cloak's sleeve. The end would be nigh. 'Madara' was off more-so to the left, and Konan more to his right. He'd be penned in. His own mind went blank; perhaps this really was entirely his fault. He should never have fallen in love. He should have remained Perfect. A gray.

Matsuri went on. "You, the strongest person I know, tied yourself down to the weakest. To me."

"This is so pathetic," 'Madara' murmured to himself, yet knowing that everyone heard him. But they ignored his comment anyway.

"…" Naruto shook his head. "Of course not, dear." He was actually looking forward to hearing her usual rebuttal 'don't call me dear', but she surprised him. She laughed; the girl with a knife at her exposed neck that had already drawn blood was _giggling_.

"You know. I was never really against you calling me that, Naruto-kun. I was just…being dumb as usual, I guess. I thought that if I had played it off as nothing instead of making a fuss, you would have stopped."

Naruto had to admit; that sounded a bit of a bull-crap explanation-…yet it was still plausible. In fact, the more thought he paid it, the more sense it made. "But why?"

"I started falling for you the night you carried me from your old apartment to your new house. Damn hindsight."

"Yeah, and you really grow on a guy." His answer made her roll her eyes. 'Madara' felt like this was turning into a farce.

"Keep coming, UzuNamikaze. If I see any hints of Sage mode or the Kyuubi's chakra, I'll slit her pretty little throat."

Said person frowned before putting a bit more pep in his step. He shook his head. "Not my new house. It was supposed to be _our_ home. I…" He hesitated and stopped. He turned and faced both her and 'Madara'. Upon doing so, everyone tensed for conflict, but he remained there, not really caring about his safety anymore. He had to face her completely. To let her _know_. "I was…planning on…" The words ceased coming as his breath hitched in his throat as he hung his head; his eyes shaded from view.

"Yeah?" She waited expectantly. What was he trying to say?

"Us. I was planning on furthering my relationship with you. For _us_ to go further." He lifted his head and looked her fully in her limpid black pools that were her eyes. "We as shinobi die too young, so I was planning to tell you when I got back. To give up this whole damn Sage business. I'm not a perfect person," he started off, but he started to sound as if he was begging. "But when I'm with you, YOU **MAKE** ME ONE!" He yelled suddenly. He tried to inhale, but found it hard to; it was as if that instead of releasing a burden off of himself by saying that, it had only increased it. Now reduced to a whisper, he tried to tell her his last. "I love you Matsuri-chan."

No one breathed, for fear of interrupting something. It wasn't his first time saying it, but it was the first time admitting it to her, and she had to hear. At least before he left this mortal coil. The rain began falling harder now, the mud splashing up with each droplet and smearing everyone at their lower quarters.

"I…I love you too, Naruto-kun."

She said it gently, yet he still heard. His expression didn't change, but her smile never left her face. "You're no Perfect Sage, with a face like a cold statue. C'mon, Naruto-kun. Smile. For me?"

His lips tickled, and ever so slowly, began to curl upwards. When she saw it, she smiled even bigger. "That's perfect. Keep it up, and you _will_ be perfect. Our emotions give us character. Without it, we're no better than these Akatsuki." A slight head gesture to Pein indicated who and what she was speaking of. "But as I said before, you were tying yourself down when you chose me."

Naruto's smile wavered. Was she refusing him? But although, this overly humble behavior had always been Matsuri anyway.

"You were going to tie yourself down, even now. But I'm not going to hold you back anymore…" Everyone tensed somewhat at the sound of a statement like that, but the completely unexpected happened.

With a quick apology on her lips, Matsuri dragged her own neck swiftly across the blade of the kunai, and blood ran freely.

That was how all that was order fell into chaos. All that ran in unison within the UzuNamikaze suddenly halted, before running amok in him. Time froze for the UzuNamikaze as his eyes widened. Everyone else was seemingly taken aback, and 'Madara' dropped the bloody kunai as if it was hot, unbelieving that the girl had been willing to slash her own throat just to free herself of being his collateral to stop Naruto. He wasn't planning on killing her, not until Naruto's fate had been metaphorically and literally sealed. He had only wanted to cut the jinchuriki down to size, make him vulnerable enough to be taken in with little to no effort, or perhaps even place him in a genjutsu. At the worst, even use Kamui on him to teleport him to his pocket dimension. All on a tactic that was mostly bluff. He had won fights with less, after all.

But the look on Naruto's face; the combination of grief, misery, and rage...it was even more disconcerting than when he was soundly beaten in a fight with the Yondaime around sixteen years prior.

His first reaction to seeing Naruto like that was to get the hell out of dodge by teleporting away in case the UzuNamikaze turned on him first but hardly had he began to do so when his sharingan told him that Naruto was moving towards him, but he was without Sage mode. The Kyuubi's influence was clear in his facial features, and his very aura tainted the air. The motion was still so fast that his reaction was only that...a reaction. Action had always been faster than reaction, and Naruto's right fist kissed the man's mask and sent him flying, but only under Naruto's power that was diminished compared to what Sage mode was capable of. With him out of the way, Pein and Konan were about to intercept the shinobi should he turn on them, but to their mild surprise, he paid them no mind; instead, he hefted up Matsuri in his arms and held her close to his chest, struggling to contain his grief and rein in his anger. The vermilion cloak started to flag, and it took over every part of him save for where his body came into contact with Matsuri's own.

She wasn't gone yet, though. But it didn't matter. Even if he could teleport to get her to a safe place, to anyone who could offer medical help, there was no doctor with the skill enough to save her life. She was that far gone.

His back was turned on Pein and Konan; all of his attention rested on Matsuri, whose life was ebbing away with the flow of crimson from the slit in her neck. He was horrified and yet somewhat surprised that she was still alive; she was tenacious to the end.

Her bloodied front smeared against his, and he tore his eyes away from her heaving chest, her trying to get air but only drawing more blood into her lungs from her wound. His eyes then met hers...

She didn't look scared or worried or in pain at all. Instead, she had a small frown, as if there was only a minor thing annoying her. His tears slightly abated as she slowly-but-surely dragged two of her fingers into the blood still seeping from her neck and lifted the hand up to his face, unafraid of his feral nature. He didn't shy away from it but felt like bursting into tears at seeing his beloved so close to death, despite the overwhelming rage that the Kyuubi's influence was inveigling.

She shakily dabbed her blood-smeared index at the left side of his lips and dragged it weakly upwards by an inch. She then repeated this at the right side of his lips with her middle finger. He finally realized what she had done as the frown fell into a relaxed smile as she gazed up into his face.

At long last, her eyes became glassy and she succumbed to the urge to just rest her eyes for only a moment. Her body went limp; her uplifted arm fell lifeless at her side. Her face was now pale and ashen from her loss of blood.

But the smile never left her face.

His insides cringed, wrenching painfully. His heart felt like it was about to blow itself up in his chest as he held the love of his life. She had passed on.

He nearly dropped her in the throes of his internal pain that stemmed from nothing more than Euripidean emotions. In a means of trying to gain some respite, he tried to snatch some measure of his humanity by pressing his lips against hers. He had to smile himself to match hers, but it was somewhat worth it.

She was still warm to the touch despite the fiery nature of his red chakra, and her body was still comforting in the chilling rain that fell. He kept his face down, knowing that the rain would wash off the smile she had drawn on his face. He finally pulled away, and the tears ran anew down his cheeks. They didn't even get the chance to wash away the blood from the sides of his lips; the blood dried and burned away along with his tears.

Would he ever stop crying, he wondered?

He stood slowly, hefting up Matsuri carefully as he did so. He thought of all of life's little enjoyments that he had hoped to be able to do with her and found himself weeping even more. Trying to meander away from the idea, he found his mind wandering to all the things they had done together.

They would **never** do these things again.

Naruto turned around with the girl in his arms and faced the Akatsuki. Pein and Konan still remained where they were, and 'Madara' came walking back nonchalantly from where he was knocked to as if nothing had happened. "If you had submitted, this never would have come to pass."

"Shut up," Naruto hoarsely replied. His vision was blurry, yet he could still see that the man was unabashed. Utterly and completely.

"She would not have perished..."

"Shut up, Pein."

"Earlier while we were fighting, you claimed that you were a Perfect Sage. That you were immune to emotions, immune to being hurt, immune to pain. Are you yet still immune?"

Naruto was about to repeat his earlier response but kept it back to himself. His eyes fell to Matsuri in his arms and back to look to Pein. "No. I'm not."

"Now, you know pain..." The leader of the Akatsuki said grimly. "Are you still adverse to our plans of peace?"

The UzuNamikaze didn't know anymore. He just felt like a measly, insignificant blemish in existence at present, rather than being a big part of it. But he was still more than that.

He was human.

To be human was to feel pain, not be invulnerable. To be human was to hate your enemies, not forget about them and all the wrongs they've done by you. To be human was to like your friends, not to dismiss them as trivial. To be human was to forgive errors, not to pass judgment. To be human was to be partial, not indifferent.

To be human was to love, not to be unfeeling of anything. He was **not** unfeeling. He had loved her.

It was better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. No matter how long or how brief, he was grateful to her. She had given him his humanity. Happiness, sadness, serenity, anxiety, hope, worry, hate and most importantly, love.

That didn't mean he was feeling more and more of the opposite for those before him who had forced her to take her own life so that he could keep his.

And pain…the pain came included as a part of the package.

His heart began to lurch as his mind wandered to all of the negativity he had faced while growing up. Becoming a Sage did not erase this history, but merely enabled him to push it aside, waiting for him to finally sort it out. He supposed he could forgive the village, but he was willing to hate his enemies, no matter how far the wrong way it took him, so long as he didn't lose his humanity again.

Was he still human?

 _Give over to the rage…to the anger…give yourself over to the hate…_

It was a call. A call he was more than ready to answer.

His grief for Matsuri was beginning to grow, and in like a tandem, so did his fury. She did this! She did this to save him!

To save him from…the Akatsuki-…from **them**! They must be punished- No, they **must be killed** -

The Kyuubi saw his chance and dared not to let to let it slip by him. At long last, the girl who had incited so many emotions in the blond had died, and her death was about to become the catalyst…she would be the key that would set him free.

Naruto found himself losing his more intelligent thought processes, and didn't care. He retained just enough to lay the belle down gently.

Then his world began to take on an ominous red color.

 **=X=X=**

Madara, on instinct of seeing the fox's influence, nearly smiled in glee. Perhaps this shouldn't be so bad after all. The Biju had always been more susceptible to the sharingan, to hypnotic genjutsus. He had even managed to bring the full, real beast to his own beckoning, using it to raze Konohagakure when Naruto was born. So what were just three tails of power? Besides, from the looks of things, he was losing even more and more control. Was Sage Mode and a little fuuinjutsu all he had learned on his training trip?

The Kyuubiefied Naruto fell down onto all fours and howled a gale at the Akatsuki Nin, none of who even blinked when they saw the effects of the intimidatory flaunt of power that kicked up some debris and agitated the rain and mud. The howl turned less and less about anger and more and more into pain as a fourth tail sprouted from its tailbone, and the sheer broiling chakra on the boy's flesh soon wrought it black. Even more so, his eyes turned to a glowing white and he sprouted an exoskeleton; none of them were any at all surprised. There was no novelty in a situation that each of them had already witnessed.

'Perhaps another time,' Madara thought. "We should end this and capture him, he is still the final jinchuriki, and he has to be the one who is sealed last." He said aloud to his cohorts. He wasn't saying it out as an order, but more as a passing comment. Without waiting for any sort of response, he commenced by trying to induce a hypnosis to put the possessed jinchuriki to sleep and out of commission, but to his surprise, failed to do so. "What?"

Naruto howled again as dozens of paper bombs blasted onto him and his general location with concussive force, before exploding at the epicenter. The smoke hadn't even cleared before a single tail fronted through the smoke at the Deva Path who dodged it easily, gathering everyone's attention of the sole tail. In the same second of the momentary distraction, three tails sallied forth out of the ground in three separate locations that staked upright right through the paths from their upper backs and up through their heads. There was hardly any gore, as the fiery chakra of the shroud nearly incinerated all the bloody matter on contact, and the corpses of the paths reverted to what they previously were…corpses. Not even the Preta Path was spared, as it wasn't preparing for such a sudden attack, and from everyone's blind spot.

There was no more coming back from that. The Naraka Path wasn't around anymore.

Madara watched the spectacle with cool interest. This beast…was certainly not fighting with the mindset of a beast. It was specifically targeting the Paths right from the very get-go, just as Naruto had done when he had first arrived in Amegakure. At this thought, Madara's eyes widened. Was he…conscious?

But that didn't explain the fact that he wasn't affected by his sharingan's genjutsu.

He had no time to ponder this as the beast on all fours darted out of the smoke, right at him. For the first time, Madara looked him into the eyes and saw the tell-tale amber bars of sage mode in its pupils.

Inside the mindscape, the Kyuubi sat still in his cage, continually gathering just a tiny amount of senjutsu chakra while its container ran ballistic. Now, with the combined number of chakras running through his system, his was as immune to genjutsu as even Zetsu could, as he had his own chakra, plus the Kyuubi's chakra itself in the mix, and a tiny bit of senjutsu chakra for 'seasoning', just for the very purpose of warding away genjutsu. No matter how and why this wasn't the real 'Madara', he was still dangerous none the less. After all, he still had strong feelings for the very same man who had basically caused his imprisonment inside the blond UzuNamikaze.

Gathering the natural chakra was the easy part, not to mention, once he had started, the Sage had taken it and made it a part of him like muscle memory. He could forget his memories, but he couldn't very well forget what had basically become a part of his biology.

Now, he could focus on allowing the boy to keep running amok with his power. But as he did so, he watched through the eyes of his jinchuriki and saw how the Madara was easily maneuvering and phasing through attacks. Well, there was nothing more that he could do to harm him, and his chakra was limited, as were all humans. While Naruto/Kyuubi's chakra was also limited in a sense, who could measure the length of forever? With a silent inveigle on his part, Naruto left Madara to focus on the other members of the Akatsuki.

The blond youth was no more as the rage took over and sought to tear apart his enemies limb from limb, then to decimate the rest. He went right up to six tails, and Madara began to worry. At this rate, the Kyuubi would soon come undone from its seal…but…would not that mean that he could control it then, free from the chakra that sagacity offered that protected it from senjutsu?

True.

But he wouldn't be able to maintain a control over it in the time it would take to seal the other jinchuriki. It was still tactical suicide, as he would eventually retake control of its mentality and its psyche and begin to wreak havoc. And besides, he was not about to consider the option of keeping the Kyuubi as a pet to keep on his doorstep.

Take him down! That was the only option! Well, besides killing him and using the grace period of it to reform to recruit more members and gather more Biju.

But how…?

Until that question was solved, pacifism wasn't going to work, nor was aggression. But at the very least, it looked as if the tails had stopped rising in number. For now. Perhaps the Kyuubi was really an intelligent creature, using its jailer as a medium with which to destroy any threats to it before it broke out.

Little did he know how right on the money he was.

Paper, on the will of Konan, began to wrap itself around the enraged and possessed jinchuriki to restrain it long enough for Pein to remove a chakra rod to stake through one of the beast's tails. It failed miserably as the paper just didn't have the tenacious strength to hold back the corrosive, toxic and hardy chakra, and the rod failed to fully penetrate through the tail. Naruto's response was to give the Deva path a wicked backhand before actually forming a crimson Rasengan and shoved it at her, but she flew out of reach.

So did his arm as it extended its reach, but the nimble woman gracefully flew out of reach, and the boy howled in even more anger. He began slowly sprouting the seventh tail and began expelling chakra from his body. Pein recognized the attack and realized what the furious jinchuriki was about to do. Even worse, he had no Preta Path to negate the attack.

But Madara had come to his own conclusion and realized that if the Deva Path and Konan were enough to bring down the jinchuriki, then the lad would inadvertently, (or actually willingly) release the Kyuubi. Perhaps the only way to sate him was to take a dive in the fight.

But how? Genjutsu was out of the question, and none of the help available was capable of doing so.  
Besides, it wasn't even on par with the sharingan's own potency level to begin with, and not even **that** was working in the first place.

Fake it? With clones, maybe?

What clone could stand up to an attack and leave a corpse behind, anyway?

He glanced all around at the bodies of the paths and realized that they were the best he would have to work with. But Nagato could be really miffed when it came to the bodies of them, something about replacements and their history pertaining to their techniques and whatnot. But he didn't give a damn. At the very least, if he couldn't cast a genjutsu on the UzuNamikaze, he could cast it on corpses to make it look like them. Then, so on and so forth.

The UzuNamikaze began concentrating the chakra in front of his mouth. The only difference was that there was green chakra in the mix, as well as red and blue. Come to think of it, there was quite a bit of green.

The Deva Path took in the spectacle on the behalf of Nagato via the usage of the Outer Path and realized that there was no way he could fire either the Tailed Beast Ball or its laser variant at a range that they currently had to work with. He couldn't hit a moving target because there was no one there stupid enough to try and weather the attack with a defense.

" **GRRRaaaAAAGGHHHH!"** Naruto growled loudly before ingesting the ball and nearly blew up himself under the influence of the mass of chakra he ingested. He sunk quite a bit into the mud, but to Konan's horror, he pointed his snarling muzzle at her. Despite all of them having damage negating abilities, she had it in the least.

Make herself into paper or not, she was **not** willing to let herself get his by that. She began to fly erratically in the sky, also using the jinchuriki's failed focus on her as a distraction, hopefully, long enough for the Deva Path to put him down, but the **Banshō Ten'in** failed to deter him in his attempts to dash him against the landscape, as he was too resilient take sufficient damage from boulders that began to smash themselves against him.

Naruto rose up again from his crater, now enraged from being unable to draw a bead on the paper user. Instead, he refocused his attention on the one who had antagonized him. Pein merely stood looking at him, deciding to just let the crazed Biju-possessed boy fire his technique. Perhaps immediately afterward, he'd be more tired and vulnerable so he could be more susceptible to his Gravity abilities. After all, he (Pein) could just dodge the attack at the last second. No harm would be done to the Deva Path.

But Konan realized one crucial thing as she watched the scene with wide eyes as her vision took in the battle and the village not too far in the distance.

"NO! Nagato! Get him to aim elsewhere! The Village! It's right behind you!"

Nagato, through the Deva Path, reacted too late as he was caught flatfooted when the attack was done, a six-tailed Beast Ball, in its laser variant, albeit this one had visible green streaks in it, one Madara with his sharingan could see was natural chakra.

Pein saw the attack with a faster perception of time. But the fact of the matter was, either he stayed in the way and be killed (as a path, that is) or get out of the way to preserve the body of Yahiko as usual, and let countless people in Amegakure perish, as well as risk the infrastructure of the tower he was in be damaged and more than likely put himself at risk.

It wasn't an easy choice. Each choice would have its own repercussions and would challenge his own values. All of a sudden, he could understand Naruto's view on life and it's situations as a Sage. As a Sage, he would have to give up the best thing in his life to preserving the lives of many. And his friend, Yahiko, was already gone. This choice was already made. Amegakure came first, and Nagato was sure that this was what he would have wanted. But that didn't mean that he himself wanted it.

He stood still and decided to weather the attack. He prepared himself and attempted a **Shinra Tensei** in the hopes of stopping the attack, or at least deflect it when he realized one crucial thing. His timing was botched.

It had only been four seconds since his last gravity attack.

With widened eyes like a deer caught in headlights, he was suddenly wholly attacked by the massive bijudama enhanced with natural. Dead flesh burned with an acrid smell in the air as Pein was blasted by the laser variant. Instead of blocking the attack, he was merely a victim of it, and he was only the first as the attack went unchecked on its way to Amegakure.

Konan only watched with uncomprehending eyes as the massive attack spewed from the Kyuubified Naruto made it to her home village. Instead of exploding, it instead ran like an unstoppable force right through the core of it, blasting through infrastructure and burning all that came into contact with it. Tearing her eyes from it, she turned back to the UzuNamikaze, who howled in his fury.

However, in all of her

experience, while she had fought enraged jinchurikis in this state, they had always fought her with anger and rage; she could hear it in their vocalizations.

But this one, she could plainly hear vocalizations of grief. It sounded more like an animal in pain. Yes, that was it.

In pain.

Somewhere, she knew that this was a Naruto that was fighting out of grief than out of rage. But her own rising anger would soon quiet it. If worst came to the absolute worst, then a presumed six billion tags would surely finish the job.

Obito roused himself to battle. Perhaps the natural chakra he had seen to be having potency in the jinchuriki had been used up in the attack, and all that remained was just the Kyuubified boy itself. And if that was the case, then it would be child's play to start using genjutsu. He readied himself to use the hypnosis aspect of his sharingan, but before he could do so, the influenced young man began roaring while holding its head. In the meantime and behind the teen and out of Obito's notice, an eighth tail was struggling to form.

 **=X=X=**

The seal was reduced to a grotesque mass of ink that flowed in the murk of the sewer that was the Kyuubi's prison. Said Biju couldn't help but grin as his jailer gathered his bearings and got up, before making his way steadily to the seal. He did so eagerly.

Naruto felt lost. What was left waiting for him, anyway? She was gone.

He knew that this wasn't his promise to the Biju, but he had long ago come to the decision that he might as well do the deed. The little Natural Chakra he had gathered from being in normal Sage Mode had been used up in his last attack, and with three S ranked ninjas waiting on him and being left without Perfect Sage Mode, he was at a loss.

He was giving up.

It was true. But he still appreciated that Matsuri had given him back his humanity. It was far more perfect than 'Perfect Sage' mode could ever be. The timing was fine too-…he didn't care that he was bereft of it in the middle of the biggest fight of his life. He only wished that it didn't take her sacrifice to free herself of being Madara's collateral.

"Kill Madara first." He muttured in a voice that didn't sound too much like his own.

The Kyuubi grinned widely. **"My pleasure."** After the informal agreement, he made the waters of the mindscape to lift up his container up to where the seal was located with high buoyancy. As the practically possessed jinchuriki was about to grasp the seal and tear it off, another hand grasped his by the wrist. Naruto didn't pay any attention to the hand and continued to try and rip off the sealing tag, but the Kyuubi's bloodshot eyes widened. **"Yondaime?!"**

And here right before him, his second most-hated person. If only Naruto would hurry and release the seal…it could make up for lost time. And missed meals.

"Son? What are you doing?"

Naruto couldn't pretend to ignore the voice or the hand anymore. His eyes barely looked to his left and took in the sight of his father. He was decked out fully in the attire of the clothing he usually wore while he was in office, including the cloak that had the kanji for 'Yondaime' on it. Without further ado, Naruto nailed his father in the gut with his right hand, and while the chakra construct dry-heaved, Naruto tried to renew his efforts to rip off the seal, but to no avail, as the Yondaime held on and only paused to throw his son over his shoulder away from the seal with a toss-up-and-away.

Naruto fell and struck the murky waters with his shoulder. Hardly as he did so, he flared his chakra so he could remain bodily above the surface like solid ground, where he thereupon rolled backward and back onto his feet. "Get out of my way!" He shouted, making his father frown.

"Naruto? What-…It's me, your father! You're not behaving rationally!"

"I know who you are," The UzuNamikaze harrumphed. "You're probably some kind of chakra construct of yourself that you planted while you made the seal. Is mom around too?"

"Well…she is. But that's not the issue. You're using rational speech, yet still being influenced by the Kyuubi's chakra." The Yondaime said the Biju's title almost as if he was spitting it. "It's controlling you!"

"It's not controlling me here! Out there, it can have all the control it wants. But I'm doing this…" Naruto pointed at himself with his thumb. "Because I want to, and I have to. I'm in a fight with three S ranked ninjas who killed…" He found that he couldn't say any more, and the teen sobbed while tears ran from his eyes. The Yondaime's expression softened as he suddenly felt like he knew his son's reasons. He had lost someone. Someone precious. "Tou-san, get out of my way…" Naruto growled.

"Son, you can't go about fighting like this. You can't win every fight. Besides, isn't Jiraiya-sensei there to help you?"

"They killed him weeks ago," the answer came bluntly. "He's just one of my precious people they've killed. They just forced Matsuri-chan to kill herself..." The younger fell to his knees and began crying uncontrollably and suddenly, things started making more sense for the yondaime.

" **The girl was to be his mate. Me? I'm commissioned to be hell's janitor, as was the boy's terms of the agreement before we even ended up in this mess. Now then, Yondaime,"** The Kyuubi pontificated to the man. **"Either get out of the way or help him by tearing off the f*ckin' seal yourself."**

"No." The man said simply. He turned back to his son, but his son was already on a dead-on run towards him. At the last second, Naruto leapt over and upwards to get to the seal, but in a blur, the older man was at the boy's side and with regret, gave his son a haymaker to the jaw that made him see double momentarily as he was knocked onto his back into the waters below, whereupon which he floated.

But Minato knew he was far from done.

He was right when he saw his son get back up quickly, and saw the tell-tale amber of Sage Mode around his son's eyes. The pupils, however, was a mix of the Kyuubi's slits and the toad's horizontals. As quick as he himself had just moved, he was caught off guard by the boy's appearance and achievement, allowing Naruto to return the strike with far more force to his solar plexus. The man doubled over in pain, before Naruto lifted a punch from below upwards, right in the man's face. Just as he was about to continue, the man caught his son's fist, and the two Sages glared into each other's eyes.

"This is no way to go about doing things," Minato chided. "You'll loosen the Kyuubi from the seal. It'll go rampant, and I doubt that anyone else except for our late sensei can seal it again, and even then it'll cost your life. Everyone could and would die, and you'd only be the first because of the unsealing."

"These Akatsuki want to unseal the Kyuubi from me anyways. I might as well make their jobs harder for them!" Naruto yelled.

"If you know Sage mode, then fight them with it!" Minato yelled back as the two wrestled and fought. The odds of keep-away with the Seal Tag as the goal kept getting slimmer on each side as the elder didn't want to harm the younger, and the younger was trying his utmost to beat his much stronger father. The Kyuubi returned his focus back to flooding his container with his chakra and influence, and even adding siphoned Natural Chakra from the fight in the mindscape to the mix; the two fighters didn't realize that they were actually pulling Sage Mode from the outside of Naruto's physical body, and it was doing wonders for the fight outside, as the standstill battle was now going in Naruto's favour, more than likely because Pein was out of the picture, or at least temporarily.

"I have normal Sage Mode, but it's not enough! How can I fight someone who's invincible with Paper Ninjutsu, another with the Rinnegan and the last who's Madara Uchiha?" His father froze when he heard the specifics of the boy's foes, giving Naruto a chance to form an instant Rasengan that pummeled his father and blasted him away that knocked him against the cage. He was quick to get back into the fray and stop his son from charging to the seal to remove it by catching his ankle just short before he reached the seal and throwing him with excessive force back below to the murky waters once more.

"Then give it your all, and then some! I've never been one to quit, and neither your mother!"

"Well, Matsuri-chan wasn't one to give up either. And look what it got her. She gave her life to free me, and now look. I'm fighting with a chakra construct of my father over what I want to do with my life. So do me a favor…" He created a shadow clone, and with the combined efforts, created a **Rasenshuriken**. "…AND STAY OUT OF WHAT'S LEFT OF IT! YOU ALREADY LEFT ME TO BE BY MYSELF FOR ALL OF IT, AND I DON'T NEED YOU IN IT NOW!" He threw the improved technique with extreme speed at his wide-eyed father. With an inappropriate amount of relish, Naruto saw the jutsu impact his father's location, but no sooner than he did, he felt himself in a choke-hold from behind and made to back down onto his knees forcefully.

"Naruto...sochi, calm down." He didn't say it as if he was chiding, but more out of concern, with just a bit of worry for himself. His own time was shortening, and he still hadn't accomplished his primary purpose inside the seal. The seal itself was crumbling apart, and he couldn't very well fight his own son and repair it at the same time.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" He fought his father's grip relentlessly, but to no avail, as his father was coming from the same strong mettle as he did. "YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WATCH THE WOMAN YOU LOVE DIE IN FRONT OF YOU!"

Minato had had enough of his son's bellyaching and pushed him away from himself. "Yes. I have. She died no more than a foot in front of me, to the hands of the Kyuubi itself."

Naruto made no haste to get back onto his feet, but he did meet his father's eyes as he rested on one knee. He remained silent as his father continued.

"And yet, you would squander our sacrifices to seal the beast away by releasing it."

Naruto chuckled wryly as he heard what his father had to say. "And even Kami has to wonder why a man would seal he and his wife's killer, not to mention the destroyer of his home inside his own son. Could've used another child, but instead, you chose your own."

"Naruto, we're Sages. We're required to make sacrifices for the greater good."

Naruto looked down, before looking back to the Kyuubi. The beast was hardly focused on them, but rather, controlling Naruto's actions outside. It kept muttering about a 'slippery bastard Uchiha', and 'annoying paper-user' before it made a toothy grin. Apparently, it might have killed one of its opponents. Naruto returned his focus to his father and made his reply. "Oh yeah? But I bet you didn't make a bigger sacrifice than me. Instead of living with your mistakes, I have to bear the burden of it. I had to forget my hate, forget about love, thinking about others and trying to be just. If you managed to marry, I bet you didn't even consider thinking about becoming a Perfect Sage."

The Namikaze's eyes widened. "...What?" He said breathlessly.

"You heard me. And the only person to remove that mistake from me just got her throat cut right in front of me. Tell me, does it run in our family for people to not own up to their mistakes?"

Minato was quiet. He was about to rebut but chose not to. Instead, he went with the wisest route. He strode up to his son, grasped him by the hand and helped him up, thankful that his son didn't refuse his small gesture of help, although the teen scarcely needed it. "Naruto...I'm sorry. I suppose this is your life to live, and you can do whatever you want with it. But tell me...did this... _Matsuri_ sacrifice her life just to so that you could degenerate into a monster?"

The younger's eyes widened, before they sagged halfway closed, trying to hide his renewed tears. "N-...No. She didn't."

"Naruto, if these enemies are really as powerful as you claim them to be, then might I suggest that you use the Perfect Sage mode just this one last time, bottling your emotions until later." As expected, his son started to rile up, but he quickly continued. "It's only for this season. You can mourn her later."

Naruto looked down; his eyes were shaded from view by his sagging hair and his clenched fists trembled.

"I'm sure that she would forgive it. But to see you throw away your life and be liable to be the reason why the Kyuubi would rampage and slaughter would be _un_ forgivable." Minato hugged his son tightly. "Even as sages, no matter how 'Perfect' you might be, just keep in mind that you can sin just like anyone else, and only Kami is perfect. To be perfect is nothing more than a curse. You don't learn if you don't make mistakes. You can't improve on yourself. You start to feel like no one can beat you, that you're invincible."

"How would you know this?"

"I didn't help beat the war by just by looking good, son."

Said son laughed a little, despite himself. "You only had to meet the right person, huh?"

"Yeah. Now hold still while I fix the seal on your stomach." He used far more force than necessary and planted the palm of his hand on his son's gut and wrenched it, knocking the air out of him. "That was for the rude welcoming from earlier."

"Dad...when we meet in the afterlife," the teen wheezed, "I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Take your time in getting here. Enjoy life, live a little!" The man smiled good-naturedly. "Don't get all emo like Kakashi and whatnot!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and prepared to leave the mindscape when he saw his father begin to fade; his time was ending. "Whatever. Later."

His father waved one last time. "When you see your mother, tell her I love her! And remember your manners to be more polite to her than you were to me; she swings a mean fist!"

And then he was gone.

Naruto sighed as he turned back to the seal on the cage, taking note that it was intact, and the bars looked secure. He looked up and saw the Kyuubi crack open an eye and looked down on him.

"Oi...Kyuubi. Give back over the reins. You can have more fun later, but for now, I'm taking the wheel."

" **Give me five more minutes...and some more natural chakra to continue mixing with my own to ward off genjutsu. That should be enough time to wear down that Madara imposter. Then, I'm gonna rip him apart, like how I just did with his mask I tore off his face."**

Naruto nodded slowly. "Fine. I gotta meditate. Get my thoughts and feelings together." He fell into a lotus position, but before he started, he looked up once more to the Kyuubi to ask a question he had once asked before. "Hey...do you think we could be friends?"

" **Look at it this way. I'm just not your enemy, at least for the time being."**

Naruto looked down. "Whatever." He began meditating once more, and when he started to feel the gray aura of Perfect Sage mode begin to creep over his psyche, he let one tear roll unhindered down his cheek. "I will not forget, I won't deaden my emotions, and this isn't the last time." It took over completely, and Naruto reopened amber bar-like pupils. "Matsuri...c-c-ch..." He struggled to form the affectionate term in his mouth. "Matsuri-...chan...forgive me. But this isn't the end of our story. Not yet."

 **=X=X=**

Time fled, and so did he as he retook control over his mind and body. The first thing he realized as he came to, was that he lying right next to a growing pool of blood that ran in rivulets in the mud that had reached his body and stained his clothing. He had no repulse from it, but he did get up in a hurry to check himself to see if it were he himself that was injured. Thankfully, it wasn't.

It was Madara. His upper torso was in three pieces, and one of his legs were nowhere about.

"Hmph. If anything, I would have wanted to be the one to end his life. But revenge is not something a Sage would-"

" **Yes, you would. You're just unfeeling. I bet that when you get out of Perfect Sage mode, you're gonna rant at me for killing him instead of you. You should be grateful. He refused to leave this fight unchecked, and he had no techniques that could subdue me, I believe. Just a two-bit knockoff. But to sum things up, he just couldn't prepare himself to become intangible when he didn't know about an attack coming for him. One tail from below ground…heh…gets them every time. Once I liberated his leg from him, no time enough to warp, he was as good as dead."**

"Your exposition is unnecessary. You only wanted to passively boast about doing something I may not have been able to do."

The Kyuubi waved him off before regarding the seal it was trapped in once more. It was sturdy…extremely. It was almost as if Naruto had never become a Perfect Sage in the first place when he had to accept his hatred. And if Naruto won this fight; against a Mangekyo Sharingan, the Rinnegan, there would be no else powerful enough to fight him and kill him. Perhaps Itachi, but by the time this fight was over, there would be no more Akatsuki. So to fight him without a purpose was farcical.

Yes. He was going to be stuck in this jail for a long time. He decided that he'd better make himself comfortable. In the meantime, he could at least spectate; he was lazy, after all. But it would have been nice to at least get out, maybe even see the sunshine again. Too bad it would be in another lifetime from now.

The container somehow got the feeling from his tenant and sympathized with it. Or, he thought it was. Wasn't he meant to be a judge?

Wasn't he? But for now, he had other matters to tend to.

Amber eyes gazed around the area, taking in the view. The Kyuubified rampage certainly took a toll on the area, and somewhere further on, he could see the body of Konan, with a fist-sized hole in her chest. Her expression was a mixed variant of surprise, horror with a hint of casual acceptance, and he had to wonder.

Where was Pein?

He activated his sensory perceptions and soon found himself having to look behind him. His own eyes met a pair of a Rinnegan and the Uzumaki frowned as he saw the nukenin with chakra rods in both hands. Naruto readied himself for the fight to come and vaguely thought of the current state of things. Many nuances of memories and emotions waited patiently at the edges of his mind as if prepared to crash over him like a rolling surf once he let himself out of Perfect Sage mode.

There was…a feeling. Something of one. Perhaps it was…fear? He was afraid to re-embrace the grief and such that was waiting. This in and of itself would be the hardest fight and this one with Pein would be nothing more than child's play. Pein had met his match, and Nagato was going to meet his maker when everything was said and done.

…

…

…

Naruto casually walked into the chambers where he knew Nagato would be. All of the senjutsu sensings had told him he would be here, but frankly, he was rather unimpressed. This was the leader of Akatsuki? This red-headed, emaciated and pathetic-looking man with rods sticking out of his back was the leader?

Although that black pebble-sized orb he had floating in his hand looked very intimidating. He had never seen something like it before.

Nagato was stoic; he was all alone. All that remained of the Akatsuki was perhaps Itachi and Kisame, who were still yet to be recalled to Ame, and Zetsu who was abroad. But they would be guideless, no aims to achieve. He, the leader of this broken organization, was now being stared down by the person who had killed most of them. And judging from the smears on his hands, he realized that he may very well be looking at what was left of Akatsuki's mastermind, Madara, or someone who claimed to be him. Didn't matter anymore, did it?

"So…you're the last student, eh?" Naruto alluded to the fact that this was his fellow student of Jiraiya. "The one who killed Jiraiya, and brought all of this on us."

Nagato had no response.

"Was it worth it?"

"…No."

Both Uzumaki's remained in silence for a while, both one track minded when it came to thoughts. One thought of his years in existence, while the other had nothing but Matsuri on his mind.

"Naruto…I am not willing to rescind my dreams, and you aren't willing to turn your back on yours."

"I can't. She's dead. But you can bring her back to life, can't you? Bring her back to me, and I'll leave. You've brought back your Paths, so why not her?"

"And so we students, both having known Pein, understand the world for what it truly is. No hope or ideals could ever change that." Nagato chuckled wryly. "The only to gain peace is a war deterrent. After all, that is peace, isn't it? A lack of war and fighting."

"But that's only pseudo-peace. It's just a fear of fighting, not a want of preventing fighting," Naruto rebuffed. "No one is at peace."

"But it is all in the name of peace. Regardless…" His gaze hardened into a glare. "I'm unwilling to revive someone you had petty love with, and you're unwilling to leave with her in tow."

"Petty love?" Naruto spoke quietly, yet boldly. "My whole life, filled with nothing but hatred towards me, only to be slightly alleviated by a few people like Jiraiya-sensei himself, who you _murdered._ " Naruto's voice shook, and his lone sad eye ran tears even more. "To master senjutsu, I had to kill my emotions, and you had no idea of the hell I went through with that. Then, the one person to give me back what makes me human gets her throat slashed right in front of me, and you call it **petty?** "

"I've had my hells, and you've had yours. Regardless…" Nagato readied his final technique, and he was sure to give it everything he had. "Our paths crossed, and they both end here. **Chibaku Tensei** …" He released the orb that smashed its way through the ceiling to begin its destruction from above just as Naruto charged towards him, a senjutsu-enhanced rasengan at the ready.

 **Ad Mortem**

Amber toad-like eyes stared into hers, but she didn't care. Hinata traced a thumb over his cheek, wiping away a tear that ran there. "Naruto-kun. I don't care. In fact, the only thing that bugs me is that now you're using Sage Mode. You're bottling up your grief, and you can't keep postponing your emotions like this."

Naruto was silent. The Hyuuga was right. There was only so much that Perfect Sage mode could do, and it was falling apart. Matsuri truly had been the only catalyst capable of cracking the state and it was becoming clear that he had to cry. Not these tears. Real ones. Not from an UzuNamikaze. Not from a Sage. Real tears, from the real Naruto Uzumaki.

Hinata didn't know what to think. She hated seeing Naruto like this, wondering where the cheerful youth had gone.

She looked over his shoulder and beheld the gravestone that was erected behind him. On top of the stone was an ornament of a heart, and a jōhyō coiled around it. Just below that, the epitaph read:

 _Until the daybreak and the shadows flee away,_  
 _Real love stories never have endings._

Hinata understood perfectly; the rope-dart user had captured his heart, in a way that she herself could not. But with her departure, she had not only wrought tears in her beloved but also rent his heart asunder with her tragic demise.

She had once thought of her crush as gray skies once when they had a heart-to-heart talk with each other. But now, as she finally saw the amber wash out of his eyes, he burst into tears and she had to rest his head on her shoulder while she tried to hush him quietly.

He wasn't gray skies anymore. Now, he was merely that of rainy ones. But no matter; it couldn't, it never rained for an eternity. The sun had to return from behind storm clouds, to back come once more to radiate its warmth.

She'd wait. But for now, he needed someone, a strong person's shoulder.

And she was willing to be that person.

 **Well, that's that. I hope you enjoyed the fic as much as I have, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Well, this has been a titanic of a 'short story' hasn't it? I really got carried away. Ryuujin96! I hope you enjoyed the story, pal!**

 **Anyway, I've been thinking of my next fic. I have no spoilers on content, but I think I can give you the title. It's called 'The Deserter'. I'm still undecided for pairing, but I can't settle. It's either Fu, Hanabi or Kurotsuchi, as I've noticed a lack of fics with her as a pairing. Who would have thought?**

 **-No, this is NOT open for votes.**

 **-BTW, did anyone look up the Latin for this chapter? It's really simple; in fact, if you had looked them up from the start, they would have spoiled the chapter's ending.**

 **This is MRAY signing off from 'Lassoed with a Rope-Dart' for the last time.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	26. Ad Meliora

**=X=X=**

 **Fac et Spera**

The dreary rain now fell in more independent drops, rather than the usual heavy sheets. All of the fighters stood adroitly to each other, and all of them wore nothing on their faces. There was no emotion, no betrayal of internal feelings. But anyone with even half a brain could see that the blond among them was cracking.

'Madara' smirked beneath his mask. At long last; it had taken too long to break the Uzumaki, and now that he had the answer before him with a knife to the throat. Now watching the Uzumaki, he couldn't believe that he had been so cautious. Granted, he had received word of the death of Kakuzu so he knew that the Sage was nothing to trifle with, but now that he had taken…sufficient measures to dull the Uzumaki's edge, it looked as though the difficulty had dropped from Kage to Genin. Oh, and what was this? Was the Sage now _trembling_?

Indeed he was. The so-called 'Force-of-Nature' was now shaking like a leaf in the wind. How appropriate. Although he should still be respected; he did manage to annihilate the armament-type path that was the Asura path, the Human path and the all-too-valuable Naraka Path who was to revive the others. If things had continued to go like this, who knew what else the Sage would have done before he had shown up with the prisoner?

Well for one, he wouldn't have lost his nerve.

Naruto quivered as if he were wracked with ague as his eyes actually wandered from the people he had been fighting to the girl that he loved, the very same that who had a kunai held at her throat. Her eyes were half-slitted as if she had just woken up from a long sleep.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto," 'Madara' said almost disappointedly. "I must say, first you resist attempts on being captured, and then you decided that it would be best if you challenged the very same Akatsuki on their own soil? This hubris of yours is appalling. If I may ask…does being a Sage make you _better_ than anyone else?"

Naruto's gaze fell. Did he really think that? Before he could ponder it, the masked Uchiha continued. "Furthermore, did you actually believe that this would be a mere clash, just another fight? Only one faction is walking away from this, but no matter which one it may be, it will not be unscathed. You've come not to conflict of brawn, but a conflict of goals, of means to attain peace, of dreams."

Naruto didn't respond, and 'Madara' didn't continue. However, Pein was more than willing to finish. "You're Jiraiya-sensei's student, aren't you? You should know that more than anything else, he wanted to attain peace. You believe that the sunset of the Akatsuki will bring peace, but we have our own ways and means of attaining ours. Peace isn't won by laying down arms but rather won by taking them up and completely annihilating the offenders and causes of deterrents to peace. It's only in human nature to wish to go adversely to people they don't know, neighbors, friends, even family. They need a deterrent, and that's what we'll make and do."

"That's true." A new voice said in a low tone. But as it were, everyone was keen on looking to the speaker and realized that it was Matsuri. "It is true that it's in human nature to seek conflict, and for the most pathetic reasons imaginable." She spoke calmly as if she wasn't held at knifepoint by the man behind her. At hearing this, everyone had to wonder why the girl was _agreeing_ with the 'enemy', especially Naruto himself. "But then she continued. But look at Naruto-kun over there. He had every reason to go ballistic on his own village to raze it to the ground, and yet he didn't. That's proof that humanity has the capacity to change."

"He's a special case," Konan said, almost taciturnly. "A _Sage_ isn't susceptible to the human condition."

"Well, _he_ is." Matsuri replied, before 'Madara' tightened his kunai against her throat, trying to shush her. All he did was inflict a linear cut on her exposed neck that bled lightly. The girl laughed a little, despite her situation. "I took some guilty pleasure in proving that he was. Nothing risqué, just in the name of fun and all."

"That's enough. This isn't a social," The Uchiha's voice grew increasingly stern. His reaction only served to knock Naruto down a peg, and he shrunk a bit in stature. However, he still had defiance in him; he wouldn't really be Naruto without it, anyway.

"Let her go, Madara!" He yelled.

"Fair exchange," the masked man pontificated, "is no robbery. She will be returned to wherever she wishes safely, in exchange for your submission. Otherwise, I can't very well guarantee that this pretty little flower here will live to bloom tomorrow. She'll be snuffed out."

"…" Naruto's gaze flitted to all of his antagonists while he cursed mentally. He was still pondering his options but he found himself taking an unconscious step forward towards Matsuri when he saw her throat bleed a little. He made another two before he caught himself, yet the amber of his eyes and the red pigmentation around his eyes washed out slowly before turning back to his normal cerulean ones.

'Madara' allowed himself a small smirk on his face; no one would see it anyway because of the mask. Oh, how the mighty to be brought so low. As he was now, the jinchuriki should be even more susceptible to genjutsu, but rather than doing that, he wanted to pull a little more on the yarn that was the Uzumaki's willingness. "Don't stop now, Uzumaki. There are only two choices, and you have to fully commit to either one or the other. No man can walk two roads at once."

It was at this point the Sage completely stopped. Naruto ceased all movement; in fact, the only things that kept working normally right then and there were his heart, being in a constant rhythm. His breathing rate changed, and while his eye glazed over, his mind slowed to a crawl, trying to wrap itself around this new development.

This situation felt rather…cliché. An antagonist holding a beloved hostage against the protagonist. Only one of them could live, and the fate of everyone else hung in the balances.

But it was actually so much more than that.

This was just a conflict of dreams between two gray people, both of whom were fighting for peace. One sought it one way, the other, another way. Like there was one spot on a mountain, but while one person was climbing to it where it in the middle of the slope, the other was coasting downwards to it. Two powerful people stood adverse to each other, one with powers of existence and the other with the force of existence. One spiritual and the other, mental. One who judged with vengeance and the other who judged with fairness.

One, _supposedly a God_ , the other, _supposedly a Sage_.

That's what it all boiled down to. This masked bastard was like an intrusive child in an adult argument…who happened to have some collateral that had actually brought a force of nature to a halt.

The rain that had been falling in a light drizzle began to be blown about by a gentle wind. Instead of falling straight onto him, it began to blow on his face and streaked on his cheeks. Not one of those before him with the fancy dojutsus could see that the Sage had started to cry, but only Matsuri saw. Only her.

The Uzumaki's internal maelstrom began to grow. As the time seemingly lengthened out into eternity, the more he had to grasp the fact that only one of them were going to be alive when the storm settled. At least one, if not both.

Then the amber completely washed out of his eyes as the sage mode vanished from his system.

Matsuri would have gasped, had it not been for the knife at her neck. Naruto had given up. No, no, NO! 'No, Naruto-kun, don't!'

She could scream at him all she wanted in her mind, he had started walking again to the group slowly. His aura had done a complete 180'. Now, it looked like a mere breeze could blow him over in his submissive state.

"No, Naruto-kun, don't come any closer!" She hissed, trying to stave off his approach. 'Madara' told her to 'shush-up' in a rather sadistic tone, and it served to make Naruto pick up the pace a bit more, not wanting to see the love of his life get killed in a fight that was not hers. "Stay back!"

"I…have to." He said haggardly before he sighed. He hadn't even realized that he was tired. "It's for you, Matsuri-chan."

"If you're doing this for me, then listen to me, stay back!" Naruto recoiled slightly when he heard that, and 'Madara' decided that this once, he wanted to see where things were going. "Naruto-kun...it…it looks like I was right, after all."

Naruto was about to take another step forward to Pein but stopped with hesitation. He regarded the Suna Kunoichi who was on her knees facing him with a kunai at her neck. Her bonny face had a streaking of rain on it, but he could tell that she was crying, just like he was. Oh, how the tenacious two had been reduced to grief; when push came to shove, they were strong everywhere, save for when it came to each other. "Right about what?"

"You know. About you settling for less than the best. For me. Maybe Hinata wouldn't have gotten caught in a horrid fix like this."

Naruto growled lowly, mostly to himself as he began to tread forward again on his long walk down a short death-coral. He was walking to his death, a death squad of incredibly strong nukenin who merely wanted to achieve their dreams of peace. He could see Pein ahead of him, almost looking expectant as he let out a steel-looking rod out of his cloak's sleeve. The end would be nigh. 'Madara' was off more-so to the left, and Konan more to his right. He'd be penned in. His own mind went blank; perhaps this really was entirely his fault. He should never have fallen in love. He should have remained Perfect. A gray.

Matsuri went on. "You, the strongest person I know, tied yourself down to the weakest. To me."

"This is so pathetic," 'Madara' murmured to himself, yet knowing that everyone heard him. But they ignored his comment anyway.

"…" Naruto shook his head. "Of course not, dear." He was actually looking forward to hearing her usual rebuttal 'don't call me dear', but she surprised him. She laughed; the girl with a knife at her exposed neck that had already drawn blood was _giggling_.

"You know. I was never really against you calling me that, Naruto-kun. I was just…being dumb as usual, I guess. I thought that if I had played it off as nothing instead of making a fuss, you would have stopped."

Naruto had to admit; that sounded a bit of a bull-crap explanation-…yet it was still plausible. In fact, the more thought he paid it, the more sense it made. "But why?"

"I started falling for you the night you carried me from your old apartment to your new house. Damn hindsight."

"Yeah, and you really grow on a guy." His answer made her roll her eyes. 'Madara' felt like this was turning into a farce.

"Keep coming, Uzumaki. If I see any hints of Sage mode or the Kyuubi's chakra, I'll slit her pretty little throat."

Said person frowned before putting a bit more pep in his step. He shook his head. "Not my new house. It was supposed to be _our_ home. I…" He hesitated and stopped. He turned and faced both her and 'Madara'. Upon doing so, everyone tensed for conflict, but he remained there, not really caring about his safety anymore. He had to face her completely. To let her _know_. "I was…planning on…" The words ceased coming as his breath hitched in his throat as he hung his head; his eyes shaded from view.

"Yeah?" She waited expectantly. What was he trying to say?

"Us. I was planning on furthering my relationship with you. For _us_ to go further." He lifted his head and looked her fully in her limpid black pools that were her eyes. "We as shinobi die too young, so I was planning to tell you when I got back. To give up this whole damn Sage business. I'm not a perfect person," he started off, but he started to sound as if he was begging. "But when I'm with you, YOU **MAKE** ME ONE!" He yelled suddenly. He tried to inhale, but found it hard to; it was as if that instead of releasing a burden off of himself by saying that, it had only increased it. Now reduced to a whisper, he tried to tell her his last. "I love you Matsuri-chan."

No one breathed, for fear of interrupting something. It wasn't his first time saying it, but it was the first time admitting it to her, and she had to hear. At least before he left this mortal coil. The rain began falling harder now, the mud splashing up with each droplet and smearing everyone at their lower quarters.

"I…I love you too, Naruto-kun."

She said it gently, yet he still heard. His expression didn't change, but her smile never left her face. "You're no Perfect Sage, with a face like a cold statue. C'mon, Naruto-kun. Smile. For me?"

His lips tickled, and ever so slowly, began to curl upwards. When she saw it, she smiled even bigger. "That's perfect. Keep it up, and you _will_ be perfect. Our emotions give us character. Without it, we're no better than these Akatsuki." A slight head gesture to Pein indicated who and what she was speaking of. "But as I said before, you were tying yourself down when you chose me."

Naruto's smile wavered. Was she refusing him? But although, this overly humble behavior had always been Matsuri anyway.

"You were going to tie yourself down, even now. But I'm not going to hold you back anymore…" Everyone tensed somewhat at the sound of a statement like that, but the completely unexpected happened.

With a quick apology on her lips, Matsuri dragged her own neck swiftly across the blade of the kunai, and blood ran freely.

That was how all that was order fell into chaos. All that ran in unison within the Uzumaki suddenly halted, before running amok in him. Time froze for the Uzumaki as his eyes widened. Everyone else was seemingly taken aback, and 'Madara' dropped the bloody kunai as if it was hot, unbelieving that the girl had been willing to slash her own throat just to free herself of being his collateral to stop Naruto. He wasn't planning on killing her, not until Naruto's fate had been metaphorically and literally sealed. He had only wanted to cut the jinchuriki down to size, make him vulnerable enough to be taken in with little to no effort, or perhaps even place him in a genjutsu. At the worst, even use Kamui on him to teleport him to his pocket dimension. All on a tactic that was mostly bluff. He had won fights with less, after all.

But the look on Naruto's face; the combination of grief, misery, and rage...it was even more disconcerting than when he was soundly beaten in a fight with the Yondaime around sixteen years prior.

His first reaction to seeing Naruto like that was to get the hell out of dodge by teleporting away in case the Uzumaki turned on him first but hardly had he began to do so when his sharingan told him that Naruto was moving towards him, but he was without Sage mode. The motion was still so fast that his reaction was only that...a reaction. The action had always been faster than reaction, and Naruto's right fist kissed the man's mask and sent him flying, but only under Naruto's power that was diminished compared to what Sage mode was capable of. With him out of the way, Pein and Konan were about to intercept the shinobi should he turn on them, but to their mild surprise, he paid them no mind; instead, he hefted up Matsuri in his arms and held her close to his chest, struggling to contain his grief.

She wasn't gone yet, though. But it didn't matter. Even if he could teleport to get her to a safe place, to anyone who could offer medical help, there was no doctor with the skill enough to save her life. She was that far gone.

His back was turned on Pein and Konan; all of his attention rested on Matsuri, whose life was ebbing away with the flow of crimson from the slit in her neck. He was horrified and yet somewhat surprised that she was still alive; she was tenacious to the end.

Her bloodied front smeared against his, and he tore his eyes away from her heaving chest, her trying to get air but only drawing more blood into her lungs from her wound. His eyes then met hers...

She didn't look scared or worried or in pain at all. Instead, she had a small frown, as if there was only a minor thing annoying her. His tears slightly abated as she slowly-but-surely dragged two of her fingers into the blood still seeping from her neck and lifted the hand up to his face. He didn't shy away from it but felt like bursting into tears at seeing his beloved so close to death.

She shakily dabbed her blood-smeared index at the left side of his lips and dragged it weakly upwards by an inch. She then repeated this at the right side of his lips with her middle finger. He finally realized what she had done as the frown fell into a relaxed smile as she gazed up into his face.

At long last, her eyes became glassy and she succumbed to the urge to just rest her eyes for only a moment. Her body went limp; her uplifted arm fell lifeless at her side. Her face was now pale and ashen from her loss of blood.

But the smile never left her face.

His insides cringed, wrenching painfully. His heart felt like it was about to blow itself up in his chest as he held the love of his life. She had passed on.

He nearly dropped her in the throes of his internal pain that stemmed from nothing more than Euripidean emotions. In a means of trying to gain some respite, he tried to snatch some measure of his humanity by pressing his lips against hers. He had to smile himself to match hers, but it was somewhat worth it.

She was still warm to the touch, and her body was still comforting in the chilling rain that fell. He kept his face down, knowing that the rain would wash off the smile she had drawn on his face. He finally pulled away, and the tears ran anew down his cheeks. They managed to wash away the blood from the sides of his lips and altogether dripped off of his cheeks.

Would he ever stop crying, he wondered?

He stood slowly, hefting up Matsuri carefully as he did so. He thought of all the things he had hoped to be able to do with her and found himself weeping even more. Trying to meander away from the idea, he found his mind wandering to all the things they had done together.

They would never do these things again.

Naruto turned around with the girl in his arms and faced the Akatsuki. Pein and Konan still remained where they were, and 'Madara' came walking back nonchalantly from where he was knocked to as if nothing had happened. "If you had submitted, this never would have come to pass."

"Shut up," Naruto hoarsely replied. His vision was blurry, yet he could still see that the man was unabashed. Utterly and completely.

"She would not have perished..."

"Shut up, Pein."

"Earlier while we were fighting, you claimed that you were a Perfect Sage. That you were immune to emotions, immune to being hurt, immune to pain. Are you yet still immune?"

Naruto was about to repeat his earlier response but kept it back to himself. His eyes fell to Matsuri in his arms and back to look to Pein. "No. I'm not."

"Now, you know pain..." The leader of the Akatsuki said grimly. "Are you still adverse to our plans of peace?"

The Uzumaki didn't know anymore. He just felt like a measly, insignificant blemish in existence at present, rather than being a big part of it. But he was still more than that.

He was human.

To be human was to feel pain, not be invulnerable. To be human was to hate your enemies, not forget about them and all the wrongs they've done by you. To be human was to like your friends, not to dismiss them as trivial. To be human was to forgive errors, not to pass judgment. To be human was to be partial, not indifferent.

To be human was to love, not to be unfeeling of anything. He was **not** unfeeling. He had loved her.

It was better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. No matter how long or how brief, he was grateful to her. She had given him his humanity. Happiness, sadness, serenity, anxiety, hope, worry, hate and most importantly, love.

That didn't mean he was feeling more and more of the opposite for those before him who had forced her to take her own life so that he could keep his.

And pain…the pain came included.

His heart began to lurch as his mind wandered to all of the negativity he had faced while growing up. Becoming a Sage did not erase this history, but merely enabled him to push it aside, waiting for him to finally sort it out. He supposed he could forgive the village, but he was willing to hate his enemies, no matter how far the wrong way it took him, so long as he didn't lose his humanity again.

He looked to Pein, trying to gather his thoughts about something. "Hey, you…Pein." His eyes briefly went over to the body of the Naraka Path. It had no upper torso, but he paid that no mind; after all, Fukasaku claimed that the bodies of the Paths could be replaced. But yet still, he couldn't believe what he was about to do. "Could you bring her back to life?"

The Akatsuki Nin did not betray any emotions outwardly. Pein briefly closed his eyes as if in thought before reopening. "No."

"Please!" The distraught Uzumaki entreated, stepping closer by a few steps. "I'll even allow myself to be sealed. Just…bring her back to life!" He fell to his knees, weeping pathetically. "PLEASE!"

"That deal has long passed."

"Shut up, you bastard!" The Uzumaki screamed at the masked ninja.

"I'm inclined to agree. But take heart, I as your God, will send you to join her soon enough." Pein said with complete ease as if he completely believed what he was saying. The Uzumaki, fortunately, took this as a warning and it was good that he did. A huge giant orange centipede burst out of the ground right at his feet and if he hadn't done a backflip augmented with some chakra to get some decent distance.

He did his best to land and he barely managed to, as Matsuri's literally dead weight was reducing his overall usefulness. His thoughts were racing.

Matsuri was dead.

The Rinnegan could revive people.

Matsuri was dead.

Pein didn't want to revive Matsuri.

Matsuri was dead.

He was in a fight with S ranked ninjas.

Matsuri was dead.

He was Human.

Matsuri was dead.

He was in a fight against the Deva Path, The Preta Path, The Animal Path, Konan and last but not least, 'Madara', who the Kyuubi was insisting did not carry himself as the Madara of his time. Either a coincidence of birth names or an imposter. Didn't matter either way; he just wasn't the real deal.

He was about to slip into Sage Mode but had to consider that he was emotionally unbalanced. His emotions were a mess; he was happy to have emotions, (ironic), acknowledged that he was in love with his significant other, in the grief of Matsuri's passing, and boiling hate for 'Madara'. He hated Pein too, but he wasn't the one who had had the knife at the time, nor did it appear that he was originally in on the idea of holding her ransom against him.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Imbalance?  
But that was the answer, wasn't? Balance?

The problem was to be his solution. He was a Sage. As a Sage, he had to have perfect balance in order to fully utilize the extent of his capabilities. He had to forget about hate, he had to forget about love. That was only the easy way of going about things. There had to be another way.

Balance. In order to become a Sage, he had to balance out his chakra from his reserves. In order to become a _Perfect Sage_ , he had to balance his emotions, embrace logic and reason, be just and have sound judgment in all situations. He'd also have to be completely impartial.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Konan's paper shuriken headed his way with haste. A few out of the dozens managed to hit him in his rush to get out of the way, the most serious of which embedded itself in his right biceps and the meat of his left leg. He was starting to really see the gravity of his situation when Madara reappeared next to him out of a teleportation swirl. Naruto nearly made the mistake of looking into the man's lone Sharingan eye-…Sage Mode his only deterrence, and he had none of that presently. As he started to feel himself starting to get swirled into the man's Kamui, he threw out a kick at the man's groin, which was still solid. While it lacked real power and the man phased through it easily, it succeeded in halting the man's technique briefly, giving the Sage enough time to leap backwards.

He was going nowhere fast.

He slightly taxed his reserves by creating a clone without handseals, since his hands were occupied with holding up Matsuri. He passed the girl's body handily to the clone and the manifestation immediately withdrew to get to a green zone away from the fight scene, but not too far. Now the only thing remained was the Uzumaki who was still trying to enter Sage mode; the only proof to say that he had held his dying lover before now was his bloodied front. He frowned as he regarded it. Never matter, he'd avenge the death soon enough.

But he needed some time.

Quickly reverting to his old standby, he brought his hands together to form the cross handseal. " **Multiple Shadow Clones Technique**!" He yelled while exerting the utmost chakra necessary. He didn't really want them to fight to the end; he only needed a distraction…that of a thousand shadow clones. Although, for the most part, they were mostly on guard duty. He created more; quite a few of them capable of chakra-intensive jutsus like the **rasengan** before he himself sunk into a meditative crouch on the muddy ground in the rain.

But he was able to meditate in worse conditions before. That wasn't really an issue.

Finally freeing his mind completely from the fight, he felt his cognition slipping from the maelstrom it was into the state it usually went to in his mind when he mediated to achieve Sage mode, the emotion area he sometimes called the Void, just for the sake of giving it a name. After perfectly mixing the blues of his internal chakra along with greens of the natural chakra, he mentally breathed a small sigh of relief. At least he now had some measure of invulnerability. Now he didn't have to worry about kicking the bucket in some pathetic way if his clones didn't fend them off long enough.

That didn't mean he shouldn't hurry.

He finally turned his attention to his emotions. Instead of the usual shades of white and black and gray, he found a soupy mess of a myriad of colors with rainbow bandwidth, some more intense than others. They filled the white of his consciousness, and they swirled with no pattern helter-skelter. Most notable was the blues, the reds and the yellows and pinks. He could well imagine what most of that represented, like the broader emotion wavelengths like sadness and hate and love and happiness. There were others cropping up now, like awe, inspiration, worry and the list went on.

It was disconcerting to see his cognition like this when he was used to seeing it in the even shade of gray. Now, he had to sort them out and use them to balance each other. Not to mention, from the sounds of explosions going on the outside of his consciousness, time wasn't on his side.

"Alright. Let's see. Umm…I've got…nine main colors and shades. Black, white, gray, purple, yellow, pink, red, blue and green. Everything else is minor and just falls into place naturally. Umm…" His eyebrow twitched. "I think confidence is…blue! Right?" He separated the color from the blends, and it started running a stream on its own. "What goes with it? Hmm…calmness, affection, integrity, sincerity. Alright? Yeah?"

It seemed to work. All the shades of blue became one, and his mind became somewhat more serene. He quickly got started on the rest. "Hmm…Yellow. I think that's joy, cheerfulness, friendliness…wow, a lot of friendliness, in fact. Warmth and cowardice?"

Yes, the last one was there. Tiny, nearly insignificant, but it was there. With a frown, he sorted it from the rest, and it formed its own compact stream alongside the blue. It didn't take a genius to figure that it might form a rainbow or something sappy of the sort, but he was rolling with it. He made sure it was even and went to the rest. "Green…Freshness. Growth. Healing. Safety. Relaxation. Purple…Dignity, royalty, sadness." He brushed away a tear rolling down his cheek that he didn't even know that he had before he continued.

He worked tediously for a minute, but when he came to the blacks, he frowned. "Black. Sophistication. Hmm…power? Uncleanliness. Mystery. Informality. Evil…death…"

The good vibes he had from the yellows already felt somewhat tainted. He moved on to the reds and found that they, along with the white, gray and pinks seemed the only rivals in intensity to the black. "Red…danger. Daring. Enthusiasm. Excitement. Urgency. Energetic. Rage…"

Outside of his consciousness, Madara phased through a Giant Rasengan and handily dispersed the clone who wielded it. He used his sharingan, trying to feel out the way to find the original. But so many of these clones had high reserves, he had a hard time trying to find it. He didn't have many landslide-win techniques that could wipe out so many clones at once when they had enough sense to dodge, and he had to be content with just close-quarter techniques.

But if one thing he had learned, it was that the users of clones, especially like this, the user was as far away from the action as possible. He was sure that Konan was on the same page, as she rained down paper bombs on the masses that didn't have enough sense to dodge, before fully utilizing **Shikigami Dance** by forming blades with her paper and cleaving them apart with fair distance.

Not to say that the clones were ordinary fodder. Some, if not most of them needed multiple hits to disperse. Because of that, the paths of Pein had to work more efficiently as they were getting crowded. The Deva path, however, held off on large-scale gravity attacks as it could harm his cohorts, not to mention damage the other paths. The Naraka path wasn't available to revive any more paths to kick the bucket. The most useful path at the moment was the Animal path, and the summons had to be constantly replaced.

The fighting was interrupted when red chakra suddenly flared from a random location in the midst of clones. Madara's eyes widened slightly. "Found you." He didn't know what the jinchuriki was up to, but he was going to put a stop to it.

He used his Kamui to teleport himself to the location of the chakra, but all that was there to meet him as he was coming out of the swirl was a rasengan hurling to his masked face. He quickly phased his own body to let it slip through him and just as he was about to destroy the clone with a clone inside its poor guard, he got an elbow in the small of his back for his trouble.

Well, his abilities were good for one-on-one, but not when they were so many to intercept his attacks should he make himself tangible.

He shrugged it off and made himself intangible again before averting his eyes to where he had known Naruto had been. He wasn't there anymore; apparently, he was using the substation technique to flicker out of harm's way, or the clones were using him in their substitutions to keep their creator from danger. It was constant; the jinchuriki never stayed in one place for more than a split second, and his red flare aura was flickering all over the place, not to mention it was well and truly random. There was no pinpoint.

The man sighed in his disguise. This was the biggest roadblock to his dreams of The Moon Eye he had ever encountered. He went through several hand seals and prepared himself to use Katon, "Fire release: Flame Flower technique."

Inside Naruto's mind, the Kyuubi looked on at his container in the mindscape that was in the meditative position in the dingy water, like he usually did to achieve his perfect inner peace to remain a Perfect Sage. Only the boy could find a way to meditate…while technically in meditation. But his eyes were rolling under his eyelids, and his teeth were clenched. Kurama recognized the fact that his container before his jail was absently pulling on his (Kyuubi's) chakra, pulling on it steadily. He was so close. The Jinchuriki was already falling apart. In fact, now, he really could just break free if he just willingly gave it and pushed more and more of his chakra although the cell bars along with his influence. He'd go from zero to nine in a flash.

Kurama sighed before he began pulling back on his chakra. **"Goddamn you, brat. Tch. I must be going soft."**

He pulled back on the chakra and realized that the more he did so, the more intact the seal of his jail became. He was damning himself, and yet he didn't care. How strange. " **You'd better let me out if you about to go up shit creek without a paddle**."

Yes, he had nowhere to be right now. Naruto was going to die someday, he might as well stick around in the keep until then. He wasn't going soft…right?

In his inner consciousness, Naruto blinked his red slitted eyes, but they remained. He wasn't over his hate and realized that he only had a few more left to go. "Alright. Pink. Compassion. Faithfulness. Sensitivity. Love."

Instantly, he felt alleviation from the anger. He felt more at peace, but not totally. He was more balance when it came to emotions, but he still felt as if he wasn't above doing atrocities. He no longer felt just anger, but he still felt his morals…twisted. It must be the qualities associated with Black. Well, what about the White?

"Alright. White." He could barely tell it apart in the void, but he could sense it. "Freshness. Goodness. Unsophistication. Formality. Hope. _Life_."

This was it. He finally felt…Balance. Everything was coming together. All that was left was the equalizer. The _Gray_."

In the fight going on, in reality, the clones were all but nearly eradicated; all that remained was a dozen out of the literal thousand. They were the ones with the most chakra investment but they were like mere upstarts in comparison to the Akatsuki Nin. They continued to try and hold their own, but it was plain to everyone that the one that was in the meditative position on the ground was the original. The Akatsuki advanced to him, despite the resistance and persistent substitutions to play keep-away with the clones' creator. All the clones began to yell as they fought.

"Security!" The shout rose in unison by all the clones, but Naruto himself only mumbled it in his half-consciousness as he had retreated inwardly to sort out all of his core character traits and emotions. This didn't faze the Akatsuki, however, as they pressed on the advantage and wiped out two clones trying to create a Rasenshuriken.

"Authority!" One of the clones got handily destroyed by the Preta path, while another annihilated with paper bombs from God's Angel.

"Strength!" The shout was less in volume as the clones were still trying their best to hold off the Akatsuki, even going as far as to make sub-par clones of their own, but were picked off as they took attacks for the original still in meditation. Four more got obliterated when trying to substitute themselves for Naruto to protect him. But instead of pulling the clones to himself, Pein simply made them collide with each other with **Banshō Ten'in**.

"Supremacy!" The last four clones yelled before they all dispersed with a fireball, a blade of paper, a chakra rod, and a monstrous bird summon's drilling attack with a beak. As they were obliterated, Pein decided that he had had enough of this farce.

"Enough!" The intimidating form of the giant drill-beaked bird summon flew in a dive at the Uzumaki to attack again with its drill by the Animal Path's intentions. Its speed was incredible. Tobi was about to say a warning about preventing the death of the jinchuriki (so as to not set back his plans by years) when Naruto finally got to his feet and stood up tall, yet his eyes were still closed.

"Stability," he whispered, but they could barely tell what he had said. That didn't warrant as much attention as the fact that he instant-created a beach ball sized rasengan and held it out in front of him. It was highly expected that what he was doing was a huge tactical error that was the equivalent of a puppy playing a game of chicken with a rhinoceros.

The bird flew headlong at him and collided with the rasengan. But instead of the Uzumaki buckling under the pressure, he remained stalwart as he held out the larger-than-normal rasengan.

Everyone was fully expecting the bird to just bulldoze through him and his location with its drill beak. Instead, it was the equivalent of being stopped by an immovable object. The rasengan started to pummel the beak and the bird's momentum took it feet-over-head backwards over the Uzumaki and slammed into the ground, raising a plume of soggy mud and dirty water.

It was then that the Uzumaki raised his head and everyone beheld the amber eyes of Sage mode. But that wasn't the catch that had them off guard.

His face was a metaphorical soup of emotions; somehow, one of his eyes looked like he was radiating happiness and had a somewhat blue tint in his sclera, but the other was a fully red. That very same eye was the only one that was constantly crying, and the eye shadow around the eye was black. The other, white.

His mouth was tight lipped-…the only stoic feature on him.

Not one of them had ever seen a face like that or even knew that he was capable of even producing a look like it. It was its debut, but Madara was never at a loss for comment. It must be from the asinine 'Tobi' side of him, "that makeup looks great on you; I could never pull it off," he half-drawled sarcastically.

Naruto quickly removed a kunai from his hip holster and looked at his reflection in the broad of the blade. Seeing the rather…emotive face look back at him, he sighed. "Piss off, Madara."

"That sounds rather angry. You're not a Perfect Sage. You're as emotive as a teenage girl." Madara settled back into pre-conflict stance as did Konan; Pein stood straight. "Just come quietly."

"No!" The Uzumaki yelled, and the lone eye that ran a steady stream of tears flowed harder. "You bastards caused this-!" Everyone knew he was talking about Matsuri, and the 'happy' eye looked akin to Kakashi's eye-smile. "Do you have any idea what she meant to me?! I…I can't even go home, expecting her to be waiting on me. You snatched her, and brought her here!" The 'sad' eye with the red sclera glowed a bit, showing anger, and Madara regarded the whole face with interest.

'Hmm…so that's his loophole, eh? It was easy to achieve Perfect Sage mode when he had next to no emotions. It must have taken him even longer to enter the state the more emotions he had, and actively suppressing the Kyuubi's rage-inducing influence to attain it. But now, he's still managed to re-attain the status by perfectly balancing his emotions. But no matter how many muscles there are in a face, how can someone emote all of those?'

"I'm gonna kill you! And no matter how and what happens, I'm gonna either force you or take your damned eyes and bring Matsuri-chan back to life myself!"

'That must be hate…then worry, then hope, and the last one sounded like…perhaps I should assume it was love. I should be careful. I can confirm that this is indeed a Perfect Sage mode. But no matter, he still can't beat all of us at once-"

It was then at that point that the Preta Path and the Animal Path was picked off with Rasengans that plowed up from below courtesy of clones.

With them so handily dispatched, Naruto created a dozen clones, and no one dared to underestimate him anymore.

 **=X=X=**

Madara was pissed.

As far as it went in this fight, he couldn't believe that he, first and foremost, could be fought to a standstill. Furthermore, the Uchiha couldn't believe that he was being fought to a standstill while he was being aided by a reanimated/controlled corpse of Yahiko that was supplemented by the gravity-bending powers of the Rinnegan and Konan.

Well, it didn't help much that the combatant all three of them were fighting against was practically immune to physical damage, and all of their overkill techniques that might kill would set them back by years. Also, his sharingan was unable to pin any genjutsu on him; his chakra was extremely sporadic. It must have been because of his emotions. It was easy to cast a jutsu on a target with a one-way steady flow of chakra through their body, whereas this individual…his chakra was like a river…with rapids…that had whirling eddies…

That was putting it lightly. How he managed to balance them out, he had no idea.

And then there were his clones. Like a sort of Rinnegan, they accounted for each other's blind spot. They weren't a mob, but they were enough to keep all three nukenin on the move and wary. The Perfect Sage was enough of S Rank fighter, and 12 of them in total were deadly enough. Some were emotive in single emotions of a specific kind, others were stoic, and all were dangerous.

He almost made Madara want to kill him, as maybe with a five year postpone, he could bring Akatsuki back up to snuff with members to hunt the rest of the Biju and help with the sealing. Almost.

However, he felt more inclined to make the decision after one of the Naruto's summoned a massive Toad that spewed a deluge of oil in a stream all over Konan. "Bring Matsuri back, or she dies!" The Sage screamed as it readied a paper bomb as if he had lost his mind. "You can't use the substitution jutsu out of the oil, and her damn paper Ninjutsu will be nothing but fuel!

"You dare threaten God's Angel?" Pein shouted back evenly while Konan was frantically trying to rid the oil from off of herself with the water in her surroundings but to no avail, as more and more oil was spewed on her and her proximity, flooding her.

"Because of your hubris, **I** **DARE**! Burn!" The clone shouted from where it was on the toad's head as it threw the kunai with the bomb tag. It detonated in the oil, and the firestorm was so instantaneous that the original flare exploded white hot. The sole female Akatsuki Nin had no chance.

The clone was instantly being pulled towards an angered Pein via **Banshō Ten'in** , but just as it was destroyed by a chakra rod, the true Naruto came running with a full on sprint, his face still as emotional as can be. "Behind you…!"

As Pein looked around, he took in the sight of Naruto who had his fist cocked. His gravity attacks were still on cooldown and no way to react or dodge the Sage. "Uraagghh! **Sage-Art: Mega-tonnage**!"

There was even more force behind his fist than what he had used to pummel Orochimaru's remains. Suffice to say, the fist overclocked hundreds of miles-per-hour with incredible force. No matter how resilient the body of the Deva path was, all that remained of him was his body that stood, long after his head had virtually disappeared. The headless body then fell backwards in a topple, cold blood spurting from its neck, and the sight made Madara curse.

Now, he was more than ready to count the day as an overall lost, and just as he was about to, he was completely surrounded by swirling blue chakra and on reflex activated the unique intangibility effect of Kamui to avoid taking damage. As he remained like that, his sharingan eye widened.

A rasengan. He was inside a gigantic rasengan.

Well, today just went from bad to worse.

"Yeah, you stay like that while we play a little game called attrition," the clone muttered as it kept up the rasengan of impressive size. "If I can hold up this rasengan longer than it takes for you to keep up that technique. Try to teleport and this rasengan will obliterate you the second you become tangible."

Madara had long realized that, and he was fully aware that he was no match for the Uzumaki's chakra reserves, especially when it was being augmented by senjutsu. Quickly activating Izanagi to escape his keep, he was then re-spawned in a relatively safe zone, but as he did, he was again overwhelmed by Naruto, eleven in number.

They were faster than him, physically stronger, had enhanced reflexes, supplemented attacks with senjutsu…There wasn't much he could do as he was as he often relied on Kamui greatly to dodge attacks by teleporting or becoming intangible. He couldn't even counterattack with so many eyes watching him to make a mistake, not to mention he had to be tangible to do so. Not to mention, the second he tried to teleport, they'd be on him like a family of predators sinking their teeth into felled prey.

And judging from the look on Naruto's face, he had no intention of even being that merciful once the man ran out of chakra.

The end of the fight was on the coming horizon, but Obito knew he had already lost.

 **=X=X=**

Naruto casually walked into the chambers where he knew Nagato would be. All of the senjutsu sensings had told him he would be here, but frankly, he was rather unimpressed. This was the leader of Akatsuki? This red-headed, emaciated and pathetic-looking man with rods sticking out of his back was the leader?

Although that black pebble-sized orb he had floating in his hand looked very intimidating. He had never seen something like it before.

Nagato was stoic; he was all alone. All that remained of the Akatsuki was perhaps Itachi and Kisame, who were still yet to be recalled to Ame, and Zetsu who was abroad. But they would be guideless, no aims to achieve. He, the leader of this broken organization, was now being stared down by the person who had killed most of them. And judging from the smears on his hands, he realized that he may very well be looking at what was left of Akatsuki's mastermind, Madara, or someone who claimed to be him. Didn't matter anymore, did it?

"So…you're the last student, eh?" Naruto alluded to the fact that this was his fellow student of Jiraiya. "The one who killed Jiraiya, and brought all of this on us."

Nagato had no response.

"Was it worth it?"

"…No."

Both Uzumaki's remained in silence for a while, both one track minded when it came to thoughts. One thought of his years in existence, while the other had nothing but Matsuri on his mind.

"Naruto…I am not willing to rescind my dreams, and you aren't willing to turn your back on yours."

"I can't. She's dead. But you can bring her back to life, can't you? Bring her back to me, and I'll leave. You've brought back your Paths, so why not her?"

"And so we students, both having known Pein, understand the world for what it truly is. No hope or ideals could ever change that." Nagato chuckled wryly. "The only to gain peace is a war deterrent. After all, that is peace, isn't it? A lack of war and fighting."

"But that's only pseudo-peace. It's just a fear of fighting, not a want of preventing fighting," Naruto rebuffed. "No one is at peace."

"But it is all in the name of peace. Regardless…" His gaze hardened into a glare. "I'm unwilling to revive someone you had petty love with, and you're unwilling to leave with her in tow."

"Petty love?!" Naruto roared. "My whole life, filled with nothing but hatred towards me, only to be slightly alleviated by a few people like Jiraiya-sensei himself, who you _murdered_!" Naruto's voice shook, and his lone sad eye ran tears even more. "To master senjutsu, I had to kill my emotions, and you had no idea of the hell I went through with that! Then, the one person to give me back what makes me human gets her throat slashed right in front of me, and you call it **petty**!"

"I've had my hells, and you've had yours. Regardless…" Nagato readied his final technique, and he was sure to give it everything he had. "Our paths crossed, and they both end here. **Chibaku Tensei** …" He released the orb that smashed its way through the ceiling to begin its destruction from above just as Naruto charged towards him with a knife in hand.

 **Ad Meliora**

Rinnegan eyes stared into hers, but she didn't care. Matsuri traced a thumb over his cheek, wiping away a tear that ran there. "Naruto-kun. I don't care. In fact, the only thing that bugs me is that you're now even more older than me."

"It's only by a few months."

"What if it had been years?"

"I wouldn't have given up, Mrs. Cut-my-own-throat." He looked back at the epitaph and tried to think about the words:

 _Don't mourn for me;  
I rest in the deep peace of the quiet earth._

"Says the guy who was too clingy to his girlfriend, even months after she died," the kunoichi argued weakly while she chuckled, as they walked off, leaving the grave of Jiraiya behind them. Naruto paused to wave regretfully at the man's memorial before he caught up to girlfriend who waited patiently on him; she had to let him have his moment, after all.

"Don't you prefer being alive?" The Rinnegan holder asked rhetorically, having gotten past his grief, even if it was only temporary. He knew it was a dumb question, and she told him so.

They continued to walk along the dirt path, and Naruto felt a need to break the silence, but didn't. He just kept on. It was only yesterday he had managed finally learned how to use a deviation of the Naraka Path to revive Matsuri, and he loved having her company. But they'd always be tied; she would pass on when he did, but she didn't mind.

It was a shame about Jiraiya though…he needed the man's body for him to utilize the Hell Realm aspect of the Rinnegan. Jiraiya's grave was basically a memorial stone. Nothing more, as his body had never been recovered.

There was a question riding his mind, though, and he needed to ask his significant other. He glanced at her; she seemed so relaxed at present, and yet his nerves were completely frayed. "Um…Matsuri-chan?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face him while they walked, smiling brightly. "What is it?"

"Um…err…" His tongue tied up and his brain turned off. "I…err…do you like these eyes?"

Her smile wavered, and he blushed. "While I'm appreciative of not being covered up by six feet of dirt, I'll have to go with a 'no'. They do _not_ suit you. And that's coming from a girl with a slit-scar on her neck. What can I say? I'm the only person I know who has one."

"No matter how tomboyish, you're still a girl, eh?" He sweated nervously with a laugh, knowing he was in the clear, although he was still saddened. From anyone else's point of view, he had given up little to gain much, but he hated the eyes. Still, he was...marginally grateful for it. It was now yet another burden, but it as it were, he was proud to bear it to have Matsuri alive.

And he would never take her for granted again.

She rolled her eyes, and he sighed inwardly with relief. 'Whew! I nearly messed up.' He reached into his pocket and felt for a small box that was inside. Knowing that the contents inside was the ring, he frowned. 'Guess I do have a bit of cowardice in me after all. Maybe I'll ask her later, after finding out how to henge these eyes from Tsunade. She's gotta be fantastic at henge-genjutsu, 'cause of the one she uses all the time.' He hesitated. 'Maybe after another year or two, I'll ask her?'

" **You wuss."**

'Quiet you! It's not as if you know anything about proposing!'

" **I know enough that my container, for how strong he is, is too spineless to give his mate a simple piece of jewelry to help demonstrate his affection. She doesn't need that yet! It's still too soon! Test her out in bed first, then-"**

Naruto cut the mental connection abruptly at that point. Though appreciated, he had no need for that piece of advice, did he? He had all the time in the world, and nowhere to be currently. The Kyuubi was right in that sense; it was too soon. But the time would arrive. It would.

"Hey, Matsuri-chan? Wanna race to the Hokage tower? Need to make an appointment with Tsunade to find out how to do a henge-genjutsu."

"I'm not doing any racing if it's not interesting." She replied with a too-cute pout.

"Free running. Loser pays for lunch." He was feeling particularly a bit edgy. Bets always did that to him.

"And bragging rights?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure!" He answered cheerily. However, he was taken aback as she took off like a rocket, raising dust. He ran off as well after her, yelling all the while. "Hey! That's cheating! You didn't even wait for me to properly start the race!"

From way ahead of him, she shouted back her response. "I couldn't! I'm hungry, and I'm broke!" She neatly dash-vaulted over a cart, raising a ruckus as the man who owned it swung his fist in the air while yelling about hooligan ninjas, even while the blond runner followed the first and nearly spilled his farm's produce in his attempts to recreate what Matsuri had done and nearly failed in his hurry.

"Matsuri-chan! If you win, this race doesn't count!"

 **Well, that's that. I hope you enjoyed the fic as much as I have, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Well, this has been a titanic of a 'short story' hasn't it? I really got carried away. Ryuujin96! I hope you enjoyed the story, pal!**

 **Anyway, I've been thinking of my next fic. I have no spoilers on content, but I think I can give you the title. It's called 'The Deserter'. I'm still undecided for pairing, but I can't settle. It's either Fu, Hanabi or Kurotsuchi, as I've noticed a lack of fics with her as a pairing. Who would have thought? And damn, I'm itchin' to do a crossover, too. Damn ambition in fanfiction is gonna be the death of me.**

 **-No, this is NOT open for votes.**

 **-BTW, did anyone look up the Latin for this chapter? It's really simple; in fact, if you had looked them up from the start, they would have spoiled the chapter's ending.**

 **This is MRAY signing off from 'Lassoed with a Rope-Dart' for the last time.**

 **Valete omnes,**

 **MRAY 4TW.**


	27. PS

**P.S.**

 **MRAY 4TW:**

99, 641 Words.

That's the word count of this story. Given my dislike of this (I dunno why I'm getting worked up. This is me mostly trying to cross the bracket into a 100K when I can't leave damn well enough alone), I'm doing a bit of advertising.

I decided that instead of keeping Naruto in the...well, _Naruto-verse_ , I'm going to be doing 'The Deserter' in a crossover with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, (pairing with Lan Fan, most likely) Yeah, it's like I'm spoiling the idea and making some plot holes and crap. I'll try my best once I get my current fics done or really close to ending first. Doing a crossover feels like it's going to tie my fanfiction career together. Shame. It means putting down my plans of a future Naruto/Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover to bed, 'cause I'm only one person. Not a deity.

Since I dragged you all here, I might as well give you all something. Maybe tying a few things together before putting this fic to rest as it is. Especially considering that people add this story to follows even though it's done. If you like it enough to add it to follows, why not a fave instead? It'd be appreciated! More, that is! :)

I **can** hear you ranting at me through the screen not to do a crossover. Jeez, I just don't want to be a typical desertion fic writer with Naruto. And there were some problems with plot development. Crossover's my way of doing things. It's not FMA: B into Naruto, like Kenichi618. It's Naruto into FMA: B. I believe that it should shake things up to see Naruto dropped the way he is into a western-like setting.

 **=X=X=**

Once again, Naruto found himself standing before the tomb. He wasn't feeling angsty this time; it was more like a friendly visit nowadays. The only thing different was that the person he was visiting couldn't talk back.

"It's really funny. Today, Tsunade finally got off of her high chair and asked me to step up to it. Can you believe it? I've arrived. Soon, I'm going to be the Rokudaime Hokage. I'm only twenty-one. How old do you think my father was when he was asked? Older? Younger? I guess I'm stronger than dad. Although it would have been nice to know how to do the Flying Thunder God technique."

"..." The tomb said nothing, but Naruto continued as if he had heard. Indeed, he could well imagine the answer from its occupant.

"Yeah, you're right. I probably couldn't be that awesome if I tried. I should just let ol' Minato keep his prop. I guess my Sage Mode is stronger than his too. I wonder what my gimmick will be?"

"..."

"Yeah, you're right. I meant 'moniker'. I also wonder...what do you think they'll call me if our little 'plus one' on my visit decides to fight me? Would they call me the 'Killer of the Last Uchihas'? Or would they call me something else?"

In the dying light of the late evening, two Sharingan eyes glowed menacingly in the dark but the owner had no intention of being as such. "At ease, future Rokudaime."

"What do you want, Itachi?" Naruto turned and stared the man right in the eyes, unafraid as the proof that he was immune was in his eyes as well. "You came all the way out here just to talk? What a joke. I didn't forget all of our confrontations-"

"And yours with Orochimaru damned my brother."

"He was already gone. All he was was a body. No soul, no mind. Orochimaru was wearing him like clothes." Naruto got the feeling that he was defending himself as if he were in an argument, although it wasn't."

"I know. You have my thanks for killing Orochimaru, although I wished that there was something of my brother to bury."

"Can't take any chances with Orochimaru. I bet Kabuto's somewhere out there and knowing him, he's probably worse than the White Snake."

"No worries. I killed him." Itachi monotoned.

Naruto observed the man a bit more. "Hmm...when?"

"Yesterday." The man said nonchalantly. "And Kisame after we were done."

"Is there a reason why you did this?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I did it because...I had nothing else to do. Really. It's laughable, I was merely waiting on Sasuke to become strong enough to kill me."

"I'm sorry your planned homicide slash suicide didn't work out."

It was then that he heard something strange. It was a chuckle...was Itachi...laughing?! "Indeed. I...I'm as good as blind and I'm the last Uchiha. A fitting end; I, the last Uchiha to die blind and alone. I suppose that's an end good enough for me."

"I know about the order. They ordered you to-"

"I don't care. I probably would have done it without their say-so."

"Then why **are** you here?" Now, Naruto couldn't take anymore.

"...I hear that your sensor of a wife is pregnant. Twins."

"Where did-" Naruto's rage was instantly piqued. "Don't you-"

"I don't wish harm, I assure you. Perhaps you could spoil the future children?"

"With what?"

"...My bounty."

"You want me to kill you? I'd sooner pardon you when I become Hokage, just because you were following orders so many years ago and that you finished off the last two loose ends."

Naruto could see that the man was now smiling...a small thing, but it was genuine as it even graced his dull eyes. "And you can do it...posthumously."

And then, not even Naruto was fast enough to stop the man's improvised seppuku to his own heart. It was while he stood over the man's body as it began to turn cold and rigor mortis would soon become prevalent. He had no idea what do next, and his visit to the deceased in the grave was interrupted and shot too. But he wondered what they would have done if they were in his place. It took him a while to make up his mind, but he got there nonetheless.

...

...

...

"I'm sorry that you had to live such a life and when I'm officially the Kage, I'll use my newfound Inner Peace to keep the harmony in Konoha and wherever else I can. Itachi, you're pardoned."

* * *

 **Yeah, I was vague. You all saw (despite my warnings) both endings. Whichever wife's at home waiting for him is your guess. It can be Matsuri or Jiraiya who's in the grave, and Matsuri or Hinata at home. Your choice.**

 **Besides that, take care. It's complete now!**


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